git show for commit details - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Output of git show for a specific commit

What is the output of the command git show 1a2b3c4 if the commit message is "Fix typo in README" and the commit changes one line in README.md?

Git

git show 1a2b3c4

A Shows only the commit hash and author name, no diff or message

B Shows the commit hash, author, date, commit message "Fix typo in README", and the diff of the changed line in README.md

C Shows the list of all commits up to 1a2b3c4

D Shows an error: commit 1a2b3c4 not found

💡 Hint

git show displays detailed info about a single commit including message and changes.

The git show command displays the commit details including hash, author, date, commit message, and the diff of changes made in that commit.

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding git show output sections

Which section is NOT part of the typical output of git show for a commit?

A List of all branches in the repository

B Commit hash and author information

C Diff of changes introduced by the commit

D Commit message

💡 Hint

git show focuses on one commit, not branch lists.

git show outputs commit metadata, message, and diff. It does not list branches.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Diagnosing git show error for invalid commit

You run git show abc123 but get the error: fatal: bad object abc123. What is the most likely cause?

A The git show command requires a branch name, not a commit hash

B You are not inside a git repository folder

C Your git version is outdated and does not support git show

D The commit hash abc123 does not exist in the repository

💡 Hint

Check if the commit hash is correct and exists.

The error means git cannot find the commit hash abc123 in the repo.

🔀 Workflow

advanced

Using git show to review changes before merging

You want to review the changes introduced by commit f9e8d7c before merging. Which command helps you see the commit details and changes?

A git log --oneline f9e8d7c

B git merge f9e8d7c

C git show f9e8d7c

D git diff f9e8d7c..HEAD

💡 Hint

git show shows commit details and changes.

git show displays the commit message and diff for the specified commit.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Best practice for viewing commit details with limited diff

You want to use git show to see commit details but only want to see the names of changed files, not the full diff. Which command achieves this?

A git show --name-only <commit>

B git show --stat <commit>

C git show --oneline <commit>

D git show --patch <commit>

💡 Hint

Look for an option that shows only file names.

The --name-only option shows only the names of changed files without the diff.