The git stamp command is a feature provided by the “git-extras” collection of utilities. It allows you to add additional information to the last commit message, such as references to issue numbers from a bug tracker or links to review pages. This can be especially useful for enhancing commit messages with context and traceability. Here’s a more detailed explanation of how git stamp works:
- Enhancing Commit Messages: The primary purpose of git stamp is to enhance the last commit message by appending additional information, such as issue references or review links. This provides more context and traceability to the commit.
- Contextual Information: When working on a software project, you might have a bug tracker for issue tracking or a review system for code reviews. Adding references or links to these systems in commit messages helps provide more context about the changes being made.
- Bug Tracker References: If your team uses a bug tracker to manage issues, git stamp allows you to reference issue numbers in the commit message. This helps in linking commits to specific issues and makes it easier to track the development progress related to those issues.
- Review Page Links: For code review purposes, you can use git stamp to add links to the review page associated with the commit. This is helpful for providing quick access to the discussion and feedback related to the changes.
- git-extras Utility: git stamp is part of the “git-extras” collection of utilities. These utilities are not part of the standard Git distribution but are additional scripts that extend Git’s capabilities.
- Installation and Usage: To use git stamp, you need to have the “git-extras” package installed. Once installed, you can use the git stamp command to append the desired information to the last commit message.
- Customization: git stamp allows you to customize the format and content that gets appended to the commit message. You can specify the issue number or review link as per your team’s workflow.
- Commit Message Best Practices: Adding relevant information to commit messages, such as issue references or review links, is a best practice for maintaining a clear history and making it easier to track changes.
- Collaboration and Traceability: Including references and links in commit messages enhances collaboration within a team by providing direct connections between code changes and related discussions or issues.
- Git Workflow Integration: git stamp can be integrated into your Git workflow to ensure that relevant information is consistently added to commit messages, improving the overall quality and traceability of your version history.
“git stamp” Command Examples
1. Stamp the last commit message referencing it with the issue number from your bug tracker:
# git stamp issue_number
2. Stamp the last commit message linking it to its review page:
# git stamp Review https://example.org/path/to/review
3. Stamp the last commit message replacing previous issues with a new one:
# git stamp --replace issue_number
Summary
In summary, git stamp is a command provided by the “git-extras” collection of utilities that allows you to enhance the last commit message by adding references to issue numbers from a bug tracker or links to review pages. This enhances the context and traceability of your commits, making it easier to track changes and collaborate effectively within your software development team.