How to Batch Update Git Commit Messages
Shen Lu
Posted on Jul 05, 2023
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4 min read (696 words)
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Yesterday, I uploaded a portion of organized wildlife image data to the Github repository. However, when I checked the git log later, I found that the commit messages I submitted did not follow the commit conventions. There were a total of 85 commits, and they had already been pushed to the remote Github repository.
commit b81c9d0dc11eff2336a87e3f3f33b7d0b0dc98d8 (HEAD -> main, origin/main)
Author: shenlu89 <shenlu89dev@gmail.com>
Date: Sun Jul 2 21:49:57 2023 +0800
add Equus kiang image
commit 9ed8f1e74cc40a77d84158f7ad04f9cfe744f07b
Author: shenlu89 <shenlu89dev@gmail.com>
Date: Sat Jul 1 21:49:28 2023 +0800
add Equus hemionus image
commit 047efe1c420b4d9353c36b01238ec2c4ae4e25de
Author: shenlu89 <shenlu89dev@gmail.com>
Date: Fri Jun 30 21:48:49 2023 +0800
add Equus ferus image
commit afd25d615687b262ca9bad76e98d97eece0e1d51
Author: shenlu89 <shenlu89dev@gmail.com>
Date: Thu Jun 29 21:48:05 2023 +0800I have previously modified individual commit messages, but this time there are too many to change individually. After some research and experimentation, I have summarized a method for batch modifying Git commit messages.
The main function of the git filter-branch command is to help rewrite the branch history of a Git project.
Here is a detailed usage of the command:
git filter-branch --helpThe git filter-branch command provides various options to modify the branch history. Some commonly used options are:
--msg-filter <command>
This is the filter for rewriting the commit messages. The argument is evaluated in the shell with the original commit message on standard input; its standard output is used as the new commit message.
It's important to note that git filter-branch modifies the commit history, and it can have significant implications if the repository is shared or if there are existing clones.
It is recommended to use this command with caution and communicate with other collaborators to ensure a smooth transition.
For more detailed information and examples, you can refer to the official Git documentation on git filter-branch: Git - git-filter-branch Documentation.
Since it is the first time using this command and to prevent any accidental contamination of the entire project, it is advisable to create a dev branch as a means of isolation before proceeding with the experiment.
git checkout -b dev
git branch -a
* dev
main
remotes/origin/mainAfter that, run git filter-branch to rewrite all commit messages starting with add to feat: add in dev branch.
git filter-branch -f --msg-filter 'sed -e "s/^add/feat: add/g"' HEAD
WARNING: git-filter-branch has a glut of gotchas generating mangled history
rewrites. Hit Ctrl-C before proceeding to abort, then use an
alternative filtering tool such as 'git filter-repo'
(https://github.com/newren/git-filter-repo/) instead. See the
filter-branch manual page for more details; to squelch this warning,
set FILTER_BRANCH_SQUELCH_WARNING=1.
Proceeding with filter-branch...
Rewrite b0b4cc4e1a89acb1a05a4f871d43e67dffaecd1e (1/85)
(0 seconds passed, remaiRewrite b27d23199345736a3cb9667eb037af1ebe16c88c (2/85)
(0 seconds passed, remaiRewrite 2bb418eb12650190110583c8f367da0b1b679a89 (3/85)
(0 seconds passed, remaiRewrite 23745f9a7e4f4736bb1a9fc5a642853309a532d7 (4/85)
(0 seconds passed, remaiRewrite 916fb83dfae96fe112621362c2428acea7e1bcc6 (5/85)
(0 seconds passed, remaiRewrite 7ebc27f335bf649a6c47eb4f0201d1613f367479 (6/85)
(0 seconds passed, remaiRewrite 75b276bdfa7043ed1196ac8e8da38920c421f688 (7/85)
(0 seconds passed, remaiRewrite faa59cdb9350509a6adbea613008fd545fd2288b (8/85)
(0 seconds passed, remaiRewrite b07cec5080ef70c89d89d18cfad298a14d11b0b7 (9/85)
(0 seconds passed, remaiRewrite 6f69e1417ff76e45845ed70cbc191c0e71e91ac1 (10/85)
...
(1 seconds passed, remaRewrite 3aed0e61bf4b1cace185591cc3bb9068162227af (84/85)
(1 seconds passed, remaRewrite 996a7d7f9ef17311cd66bae1bf73723ad2335f7a (85/85)
(1 seconds passed, remaining 0 predicted)
Ref 'refs/heads/dev' was rewrittenAnd check the result with git log
commit b81c9d0dc11eff2336a87e3f3f33b7d0b0dc98d8 (HEAD -> main, origin/main, dev)
Author: shenlu89 <shenlu89dev@gmail.com>
Date: Sun Jul 2 21:49:57 2023 +0800
feat: add Equus kiang image
commit 9ed8f1e74cc40a77d84158f7ad04f9cfe744f07b
Author: shenlu89 <shenlu89dev@gmail.com>
Date: Sat Jul 1 21:49:28 2023 +0800
feat: add Equus hemionus image
commit 047efe1c420b4d9353c36b01238ec2c4ae4e25de
Author: shenlu89 <shenlu89dev@gmail.com>
Date: Fri Jun 30 21:48:49 2023 +0800
feat: add Equus ferus image
commit afd25d615687b262ca9bad76e98d97eece0e1d51
Author: shenlu89 <shenlu89dev@gmail.com>
Date: Thu Jun 29 21:48:05 2023 +0800
feat: add Elephas maximus imageSuccess!
The final step is just switching the git branch from dev to main and repeat the procedure above.
And run git push -f to push these changes to remote Github repository.
git push -f
Enumerating objects: 561, done.
Counting objects: 100% (561/561), done.
Delta compression using up to 4 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (428/428), done.
Writing objects: 100% (560/560), 44.72 MiB | 1.79 MiB/s, done.
Total 560 (delta 175), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (175/175), completed with 1 local object.
To github.com:shenlu89/wildlife-in-china.git
+ 996a7d7...b81c9d0 main -> main (forced update)