{"id":2926,"date":"2022-06-21T11:01:42","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T15:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/?p=2926"},"modified":"2022-06-21T11:01:42","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T15:01:42","slug":"git-commit-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/git-commit-a-420111\/","title":{"rendered":"Git Commit -a: Stage & Commit Files in a Single Step"},"content":{"rendered":"

Git offers developers a range of features to provide powerful versioning for software projects. Git protocols come with many features and can often feel overwhelming. The -a`<\/code> flag automatically stages files that have been modified or deleted to help improve workflow efficiency.<\/p>\n

This option does not affect any files that Git is not aware of yet, however. In this short article, we’ll take a look at setting up a basic project with git-mediated versioning and demonstrate the impact of the -a<\/code> option. Some familiarity with Git will be assumed but all steps will be outlined clearly.<\/p>\n

Note<\/strong>: The -a<\/code> option is used in this tutorial but can also be passed as -all<\/code> while providing the same functionality.<\/p>\n

Quick Intro: Setting up a Git Project<\/h2>\n

To demonstrate the use of the -a<\/code> option in Git, we’ll set up a sample project, initialize Git, add our files, make some changes, add those again, and compare the differences. You will need to have Git installed<\/a> to follow along. Our steps will be as follows:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Create a sample project with a root directory, sub-directories, and sample files containing some amount of random data.<\/li>\n
  2. Initialize Git in our sample project.<\/li>\n
  3. Use the add, commit, and commit -a commands.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A sample project, complete with sample sub-directories containing sample files with sample content will be created using the create_sample_project.py<\/code> script (available on Github<\/a>) that reflects the following structure:<\/p>\n

    .\r\n\u2514\u2500\u2500 sample_project\/\r\n    \u251c\u2500\u2500 sample_dir_0\/\r\n    \u2502   \u251c\u2500\u2500 sample_file_0_0.txt\r\n    \u2502   \u251c\u2500\u2500 sample_file_0_1.txt\r\n    \u2502   \u2514\u2500\u2500 sample_file_0_2.txt\r\n    \u2514\u2500\u2500 sample_dir_1\/\r\n        \u251c\u2500\u2500 sample_file_1_0.txt\r\n        \u251c\u2500\u2500 sample_file_1_1.txt\r\n        \u2514\u2500\u2500 sample_file_1_2.txt<\/pre>\n
    Here we see a root directory, two sub-directories, and 3 files within each subdirectory. Each sample file contains a random string of ASCII characters so that Git can detect changes later. From sample_file_0_0.txt<\/code>:<\/p>\n
    AFEcZwbWrMVtrwMQEDgebMIfIbZoFNGVUsVUrvASSWnYNrQZFcUBYFRlwgNZxTjZJCvzFUbKyaExqbKlbduAWnhsrGeGLaXhdZxEyPHeQHXSGIWdnfhBppvxGErlAxzzybwQSxTYdtwvAbnGyWwCRyBIeOqamwRbDpImFHaFnUerhsPOFysqwGoiBdphdcUqSojdBLMbWKbTiRqfcmvEiKxjyhXooUAylbGZpFMYWnLTVcPxIJiEKPYPzgMBOlqd<\/pre>\n
    Nothing special here, just 256 random ASCII characters. Next, we’ll initialize Git in our directory by running the git init<\/code> command as follows:<\/p>\n
    $ git init\r\n\r\n\/\/ output\r\nInitialized empty Git repository in \/path\/to\/the\/sample_project\/.git\/<\/pre>\n
    The git status<\/code> command will provide information related to the current state of version tracking in this sample project:<\/p>\n
    $ git status\r\nOn branch master\r\n\r\nNo commits yet\r\n\r\nUntracked files:\r\n  (use \"git add <file>...\" to include in what will be committed)\r\n        sample_dir_0\/\r\n        sample_dir_1\/\r\n\r\nnothing added to commit but untracked files present (use \"git add\" to track)<\/pre>\n
    The last line is very telling and hints that no files are currently being tracked. If the git commit<\/code> command is run, a very similar message will be displayed. Taking the advice of Git’s messaging system, the git add sample_dir_0\/*<\/code> command will notify git about all files in sample_dir_0<\/code> and begin tracking those. Re-running the git status<\/code> command now displays the following to the terminal:<\/p>\n
    $ git status\r\nOn branch master\r\n\r\nNo commits yet\r\n\r\nChanges to be committed:\r\n  (use \"git rm --cached <file>...\" to unstage)\r\n        new file:   sample_dir_0\/sample_file_0_0.txt\r\n        new file:   sample_dir_0\/sample_file_0_1.txt\r\n        new file:   sample_dir_0\/sample_file_0_2.txt\r\n\r\nUntracked files:\r\n  (use \"git add <file>...\" to include in what will be committed)\r\n        sample_dir_1\/<\/pre>\n
    This indicates that all files in the sample_dir_0<\/code> directory are being tracked and that there are still un-trakced files in the sample_dir_1<\/code> directory.<\/p>\n
    Git commit -a<\/h2>\n
    The -a<\/code> option passed to the commit<\/code> command is described in the official git documentation<\/a> as follows:<\/p>\n
    Tell the command to automatically stage files that have been modified and deleted, but new files you have not told Git about are not affected.<\/em><\/p>\n
    “Staging” a file means preparing it for a commit<\/span><\/span> command and resulting push<\/code> if working with a remote repository. When the commit<\/code> command is issued, Git will add changes to any files on the “stage” which have been added via the add<\/code> command at some point. Currently, this includes all files in the sample_dir_0<\/code> directory.<\/p>\n
    Commit Files in sample_dir_0<\/code><\/h3>\n
    The commit<\/code> command requires that a message is provided indicating what changes were made. Using the -m<\/code> flag will prevent the default text editor from opening (VIM in the case of most Unix-based systems.) This will add all changes from files currently added to the stage (files in sample_dir_0<\/code>):<\/p>\n
    $ git commit\r\nAborting commit due to empty commit message.\r\n\r\n$ git commit -m \"initial commit\" -v\r\n\r\n\/\/ output, via the -v flag\r\n[master (root-commit) d185b55] initial commit\r\n 3 files changed, 3 insertions(+)\r\n create mode 100644 sample_dir_0\/sample_file_0_0.txt\r\n create mode 100644 sample_dir_0\/sample_file_0_1.txt\r\n create mode 100644 sample_dir_0\/sample_file_0_2.txt\r\n\r\n$ git status\r\n\r\n\/\/ output\r\nOn branch master\r\nUntracked files:\r\n    (use \"git add <file>...\" to include in what will be committed)\r\n        sample_dir_1\/\r\nnothing added to commit bu untraced files present (use \"git add\" to track)<\/pre>\n
    Here the -v<\/code> option (verbosity) outputs all files that have been updated in this commit. To followup, the git status<\/code> command indicates that there are untracked files in the sample_dir_1<\/code> directory — because those files weren’t included in the the git add<\/code> command earlier.<\/p>\n
    Commit Files in sample_dir_1<\/code><\/h3>\n
    The simple version of using git commit -a is that it will “commit all changed files.” Unfortunately, Git does not automatically add previously untracked files via the -a<\/code> option. It will only automatically add changes from currently tracked files and deleted files that were previously tracked. Running the git commit -a -m \"second commit\" && git status<\/code> command will produce the following:<\/p>\n
    On branch master\r\nUntracked files:\r\n  (use \"git add <file>...\" to include in what will be committed)\r\n        sample_dir_1\/\r\n\r\nnothing added to commit but untracked files present (use \"git add\" to track)<\/pre>\n
    In other words; files in sample_dir_1<\/code> were not staged or committed. However, if we open the file sample_dir_0\/sample_file_0_0.txt<\/code> and alter its content, the git status<\/code> command will now produce the following output:<\/p>\n
    $ git status\r\n\r\n\/\/ output\r\nOn branch master\r\nChanges not staged for commit:\r\n  (use \"git add <file>...\" to update what will be committed)\r\n  (use \"git restore <file>...\" to discard changes in working directory)\r\n        modified:   sample_dir_0\/sample_file_0_0.txt\r\n\r\nUntracked files:\r\n  (use \"git add <file>...\" to include in what will be committed)\r\n        sample_dir_1\/\r\n\r\nno changes added to commit (use \"git add\" and\/or \"git commit -a\")<\/pre>\n
    This message indicates that in order to stage the changes made in sample_file_0_0.txt<\/code> one must do two things:<\/p>\n
      \n
    1. Use the add<\/code> command<\/li>\n
    2. Use the commit<\/code> command<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      Using the -a Flag Correctly<\/h3>\n
      In other words, staging and committing files is a two-step process. However, the -a<\/code> option allows this to happen in a single step as follows:<\/p>\n
      $ git commit -a -m \"second commit\" -v\r\n\r\n\/\/ output\r\n[master 92c024a] second commit\r\n 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)\r\n\r\n$ git status\r\n\r\n\/\/ output\r\nOn branch master\r\nUntracked files:\r\n  (use \"git add <file>...\" to include in what will be committed)\r\n        sample_dir_1\/\r\n\r\nnothing added to commit but untracked files present (use \"git add\" to track)<\/pre>\n
      Note the git status<\/code> command now reflects only the untracked files in the sample_dir_1<\/code> directory. Passing the -a<\/code> flag into the git commit<\/code> command automatically stages changes to tracked files or deletions of existing tracked files and commits them in a single step.<\/strong><\/p>\n
      Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n
      The git commit -a command is incredibly useful when working with multiple files. Rather than having to pass in a list of all files that should be staged, sometimes across multiple directories, one can simply add any tracked files.<\/p>\n
      Keep in mind the -a<\/code> option doesn’t stage new files that aren’t currently being tracked. This is a source of confusion for many first-time git users and can result in untracked changes if not addressed. Using the git status command can provide helpful feedback to avoid such issues.<\/p>\n
      Check out our article on adding an existing project to an empty Github repo<\/a><\/em> for more insights on how to better utilize Git version controlling for your projects! Also, check out our article on how to add a new directory\/folder manually to a Github repo<\/a> which is deceptively difficult.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
      Git offers developers a range of features to provide powerful versioning for software projects. Git protocols come with many features and can often feel overwhelming. The -a` flag automatically stages files that have been modified or deleted to help improve workflow efficiency. This option does not affect any files that Git is not aware of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[73,72],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2926"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2926"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2930,"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2926\/revisions\/2930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alpharithms.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}