# git log -- <old path> not working

2 messages from 2020-06-15 to 2020-06-17. Participants: Ville Syrjälä, Junio C Hamano.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/53684

## Ville Syrjälä, 2020-06-15 21:25

Subject: git log -- <old path> not working
Message-ID: <20200615212521.GT6112@intel.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/20200615212521.GT6112%40intel.com

```
Hi,

Just ran into a strange case with the Linux kernel repo
when trying to look up the history for a file that was
later renamed.

$ git log -- drivers/acpi/configfs.c
-> nothing

$ git log --follow -- drivers/acpi/configfs.c
$ git log --full-history -- drivers/acpi/configfs.c
-> works

First time I've seen this fail. Expected behaviour for
some reason, or a bug?

$ git --version 
git version 2.26.2

-- 
Ville Syrjälä
Intel

```

## Junio C Hamano, 2020-06-17 20:18

Subject: Re: git log -- <old path> not working
Message-ID: <xmqqlfkltpib.fsf@gitster.c.googlers.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/xmqqlfkltpib.fsf%40gitster.c.googlers.com
In-Reply-To: <20200615212521.GT6112@intel.com>

```
Ville Syrjälä <ville.syrjala@linux.intel.com> writes:

> $ git log -- drivers/acpi/configfs.c
> -> nothing
>
> $ git log --follow -- drivers/acpi/configfs.c
> $ git log --full-history -- drivers/acpi/configfs.c
> -> works
>
> First time I've seen this fail. Expected behaviour for
> some reason, or a bug?

Expected.  

In a history is branchy and mergy,

    ---O---o---o---o---o---M---x
        \                 /
         o---A---o---B---o

where A, B and possibly M made changes to PATH,

    $ git log X -- PATH

may show nothing if the PATH at O and M are identical.  This is
described in "History Simplification" section of "git log --help"

```