Using path wildcards in git log

Question

I have a file down deep in my git tree:

$ git ls-files | grep /Expression.java
sm/src/main/java/cl/utilities/sm/Expression.java

I'd like to get a log of its activity without having to type the whole path. Basically I want this output:

$ git log --oneline -2 sm/src/main/java/cl/utilities/sm/Expression.java
2718cdc cleaned up some warnings
f30cf15 Added missing @Overrides

... but without having to type sm/src/main/java/cl/utilities/sm. I tried lots of things, but none of them worked:

$ git log -- \*/Expression.java
$ git log -- \*Expression.java
$ git log -- \*\*/Expression.java
$ git log -- '*/Expression.java'
$ git log -- '**/Expression.java'

Lucylud

git log -- */Expression.java should work, weird – Alex

In my Windows 7 command shell git log "*/Expression.java" works, but single quotes do not work. – Mazel

Answer 1

Use a wildcard, no escapes or quotes required:

git log -- */Expression.java

Tested on Windows 7 in cmd shell and git bash.

Depending on your shell, you may need quotes -- if single quotes don't work, try double quotes.

Mazel

Confirmed that this works for me now. It looks like I was the victim of a bug present in a few versions of git available around this time. The fix, as mentioned in git-blame.blogspot.com/2012/01/git-1776-1784-and-179-rc2.html, is github.com/git/git/commit/5c8eeb8. It first showed up in 1.7.7.6, released just a couple of months before I asked my question. – Lucylud

Answer 2

use xargs:

find . -name 'Expression.java' | xargs git log --oneline -2

Maxillary

That assumes the file exists locally. What if you want to log a file that has been deleted? – Mazel

Answer 3

With git 2.8 (March 2016), wildcards are more firmly supported both as pathspec or refspec.

See commit aac4fac, commit df714f8, commit 1cc777d (10 Feb 2016) by Jeff King (peff).
^{(Merged by Junio C Hamano -- gitster -- in commit e6a6a76, 24 Feb 2016)}

That means that:

• wilcard works with pathspecs:

    git log -- "*.t"
    # or
    git log    "*.t"
  

• wildcard works with refspecs (when searching for a commit message starting with 'b' for instance):

    git log "HEAD^{/b.*}" --
    # or
    git log "HEAD^{/b.*} 
  

Precarious

would you mind linking to docs or explaining what exactly the refspecs format does here? – Ligetti

@Ligetti Sure thing. I have edited the answer to add the requested link. – Precarious