Re: [PATCH RFC 2/2] builtin/history: print feedback after successful reword

From: Pablo Sabater <pabloosabaterr@gmail.com>
Date: Jun 8, 2026, 10:45 UTC
Message-ID: <CAN5EUNT-21_RMuhRJwdk-vNbZmU=vNxBJEuG9mdaA_3spxwODQ@mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <aiaLyQvo8kqfv4js@pks.im>

El lun, 8 jun 2026 a las 11:30, Patrick Steinhardt (<ps@pks.im>) escribió:

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>
> On Sun, Jun 07, 2026 at 10:07:21PM +0200, Pablo Sabater wrote:
> > Unlike `git commit --amend` and `git rebase -i`, `git history reword`
> > doesn't print anything, this makes it feel empty for a porcelain command
> > and hard to tell if the command did anything without using other
> > commands like `git log <commit>` to check if the reword was done.
> >
> > Print a message on successful rewords so the user has feedback about it.
>
> I dunno about this one. My take here is that a command should be silent
> unless it has something to say, for example when it couldn't honor the
> user's request [1].

But neither `git commit --amend` nor `git rebase -i` follow this rule of silence.

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>
> > diff --git a/builtin/history.c b/builtin/history.c
> > index 51a22a9a1c..0f1ba3b531 100644
> > --- a/builtin/history.c
> > +++ b/builtin/history.c
> > @@ -739,6 +739,10 @@ static int cmd_history_reword(int argc,
> >               goto out;
> >       }
> >
> > +     fprintf(stderr, _("Successfully reworded commit %s to %s\n"),
> > +             repo_find_unique_abbrev(repo, &original->object.oid, DEFAULT_ABBREV),
> > +             repo_find_unique_abbrev(repo, &rewritten->object.oid, DEFAULT_ABBREV));
> > +
>
> Seeing the implementation also raises a couple of questions:
>
>   - Why do we mention the rewritten commit, only? Shouldn't we also
>     print the changed HEAD?

Because `git history reword <commit>` is for a single commit. After the reword the hash changes and the original hash is no longer useful to check the rewritten message. If I want to see how it is now:

  $ git history reword aabb
  $ git log aabb <- I can't check how it is now because this is the old one

So to check the new one I have to search the new hash. Imagine if it's the first of 20 long commit messages, I have to git log --oneline, get the hash and then git log new_hash, which IMO is unnecessary when git history reword can output the new hash.

>
>   - Why don't we print any of the other rewritten branches?

Haven't thought of that, it's nice that it does modify all branches, I just assumed that the most relevant is the current branch new commit hash. The other rewritten branches have the same commit message, just different hashes.

>
>   - What makes "git history reword" so special as compared to for
>     example "git history fixup" or "git history split" so that it needs
>     a message while the others don't?

Nothing, I just wanted this specifically for reword and sent this very simple as an RFC to discuss the idea, I could extend this where it fits.

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>
> It might make sense to maybe introduce a verbose mode where we do print
> such information. But if so, we should have good answers to the above
> questions and implement this in a way that makes sense for the other
> subcommands, too, so that we can apply the same principle to all of
> them.

I like the verbose mode idea but I still think that on non-verbose something should be printed, on verbose it could be printed additionally all the rewritten commits (though it could get very noisy), the changed HEAD, etc.

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>
> Thanks!
>
> Patrick
>
> [1]: https://www.linfo.org/rule_of_silence.html

-- Pablo