git log formatting options - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Output of git log with custom format

What is the output of the following command if the latest commit hash is abc1234 and the commit message is Initial commit?

Git

git log -1 --pretty=format:"%h - %s"

A commit abc1234 - Initial commit

B Initial commit - abc1234

C abc1234 - Initial commit

D abc1234 Initial commit

💡 Hint

The format string uses %h for short hash and %s for subject.

The --pretty=format:"%h - %s" option prints the short commit hash followed by a dash and the commit message subject.

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding git log placeholders

Which placeholder in git log --pretty=format: shows the author date in ISO 8601 format?

A %ai

B %ad

C %cd

D %ci

💡 Hint

Look for the placeholder ending with 'i' for ISO format.

%ai shows the author date in strict ISO 8601 format. %ad shows author date but in a format that can be customized.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Troubleshooting git log format syntax error

You run git log --pretty=format:"%h %s and get a syntax error. What is the cause?

Git

git log --pretty=format:"%h %s

A git log does not support --pretty=format option

B Missing closing double quote for the format string

C The commit message %s is not allowed here

D Invalid placeholder %h

💡 Hint

Check if the quotes are balanced.

The command is missing the closing double quote, causing the shell or git to report a syntax error.

✅ Best Practice

advanced

Best practice for showing commit date and author

Which git log format string best shows the commit hash, author name, and commit date in ISO format on one line?

A %h %an %ai

B %h %an %ad

C %H %an %ai

D %h %ae %cd

💡 Hint

Use short hash and author name with ISO date.

%h is short hash, %an is author name, and %ai is author date in ISO 8601 format, making option A the best choice.

🔀 Workflow

expert

Creating a custom git log alias with formatting

You want to create a git alias named summary that shows each commit's short hash, author, and subject in one line. Which command correctly sets this alias?

A git config --global alias.summary "log --pretty=format:%h %an %s"

B git config --global alias.summary "log --pretty=format:\"%h %an %s\""

C git config --global alias.summary "log --pretty=format:'%h %an %s'"

D git config --global alias.summary 'log --pretty=format:"%h %an %s"'

💡 Hint

Remember to properly quote the format string inside the alias.

Option D correctly uses single quotes around the entire argument and double quotes inside for the format string, avoiding shell parsing issues.