Git/Bash helpers

Installation

To install, clone this repo and run the install-prompt.sh script.

This installs a function to the Bash prompt that displays Git info whenever the current directory is under a git repository.

To additionally install some helpful Git aliases, run the install-git-aliases.sh script.

General info

This was developed using git version 1.8.1.2 and should work with this version of git and newer. It may or may not work with some older versions. It has been tested with multiple versions of Git up to 2.27.0.

The info line is able to show the following information

• upstream origin
• branch or tag, including if the branch is local (!) or tracking a remote and weather a tag is annotated (✔) or not (✘)
• if branch is tracking a remote with a different name than itself the tracked remote branch (upstream branch) (←)
• special states like merging, rebasing, cherry picking and bisecting
• current hash
• number of files that are changed from last commit if any (≠)
• how many commits the branch is ahead (↑) and/or behind (↓)
• number of stashes if any (ᐅ)

A examples of a line:

| myorigin mybranch (hash) ≠7 ↑1 ↓2 ᐅ3 |

Config

The git prompt can be configured slightly with some environment variables

• GIT_PROMPT_SHOW_SHA=true
• GIT_PROMPT_SHOW_STASHES=true
• GIT_PROMPT_SHOW_TRACKING=true
• GIT_PROMPT_DISABLE_UTF8_MARKERS=false

An example of a line with utf8 markers disabled:

| myorigin mybranch (hash) M:7 [ahead 1, behind 2] stashes:3 |

Additinal configuration options

Additionally the git prompt also takes two special configs that are used by the smart prompt explained below.

• GIT_PROMPT_RIGHT_LENGTH=<number> - tells the prompt to try to fit the git information into the number of characters and put the result into a variable git_prompt_right. If git information cannot fit it will revert to printing on a separate line.

• GIT_PROMPT_DISABLE_PRINT=false - if true tells the prompt to never actually print a line. Instead put the information into either git_prompt_right or git_prompt_line depending on weather GIT_PROMPT_RIGHT_LENGTH is set and the information can fit.

Unless you are making your own smart prompt you won't need to worry about these.

Smart prompt

Also included here is a setup of the bash prompt where the git line is integrated rather than a separate line. I call this my smart prompt since it integrates a lot of handy features besides git.

Smart prompt is a two line prompt because I hate having the current directory push the start of the command line towards the right edge of the terminal, I like to start typing my commands near the start of the line.

This prompt shows the directory, git and other information on one line and has the username@hostname and actual prompt on a separate line. Git information is shown last with the origin moved to the right.

The smart prompt shows the following information:

Line 1:

• exit code of the last command (hidden if zero)
• how long the last command took to execute
• number of background jobs (hidden if none)
• directory
• git information if in a git repository

Line 2:

• username
• hostname
• prompt ($ for non-root, and # for root)

Example of inline mode:

┌ 0 ~5ms ~/directory/  →  mybranch (hash) ≠7 ↑1 ↓2 ᐅ3  →  myorigin
└ user@host $

It can also be used in three-line mode (GIT_PROMPT_INLINE=false):

┌ myorigin mybranch (hash) ≠7 ↑1 ↓2 ᐅ3
│ 0 ~5ms ~/directory/
└ user@host $

Which of course again becomes a two line prompt when not in a git directory.

Other features

• Always start the prompt on a new line - even if the output from the previous command did not end with a newline (will be indicated by a ⏎ at the end of the commands output)
• Color codes username and host so it is easy to see if you are root, logged in via ssh or a local user
• Color codes the line marker so it is easy to see if the previous command returned an error or not (even when using the single line prompt)

Config

The smart prompt can be configured slightly with some environment variables (this is in addition to the ones above for the standalone git prompt)

• GIT_PROMPT_SHOW_ORIGIN=true - (only relevant in inline mode, when showing git information on a separate line origin is always shown)
• GIT_PROMPT_INLINE=true - allows you to disable inline mode so git info is always a separate line.

Dropping git information intelligently (inline mode)

I usually use the excellent Guake Terminal so my terminal is pretty wide and thus has plenty of room for information, however sometimes even I have to go into a deep deep directory structure.

So in smart mode the git functionality will automatically try to fit on the line by shortening the origin and dropping the least useful information a little at a time from the prompt if there is not enough space. In case there is not enough space on the line for even the most basic git information it will even revert back to the default mode of printing git info on a separate line.