# git-extras — 80+ Power Commands for Everyday Git

> A collection of useful git utilities including repo summaries, changelog generation, branch cleanup, and more.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# git-extras — 80+ Power Commands for Everyday Git

## Quick Use
```bash
# Install on macOS
brew install git-extras

# Install on Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install git-extras

# Show a quick repo summary
git summary

# Delete merged branches
git delete-merged-branches
```

## Introduction
git-extras adds over 80 supplementary commands to git, filling gaps in the standard toolset. Created by TJ Holowaychuk, it bundles utilities for common tasks like generating changelogs, counting contributions, managing branches, and inspecting repository history without writing custom scripts.

## What git-extras Does
- Provides `git summary` to display contributor stats, commit counts, and project age at a glance
- Adds `git changelog` to auto-generate release notes from commit messages
- Includes `git delete-merged-branches` to clean up stale local branches after merging
- Offers `git effort` to show file churn so you can spot hotspots in the codebase
- Supplies `git squash`, `git undo`, `git setup`, and dozens more productivity shortcuts

## Architecture Overview
git-extras is a set of standalone shell scripts and man pages installed into the git exec path. Each command is a self-contained script that calls standard git plumbing commands. There is no background process or configuration database. Installation simply places the scripts where git can find them as subcommands.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Install via Homebrew, apt, dnf, or build from source with `make install`
- Scripts land in the git exec directory so they are available as `git <command>` immediately
- No per-repo configuration required; works with any repository
- Individual commands can be removed or overridden by placing custom scripts earlier in PATH
- Man pages are installed alongside the scripts for `git help <command>` support

## Key Features
- Works out of the box with zero configuration on any git repository
- Each command is a single script with no inter-dependencies
- Includes `git ignore` to manage .gitignore entries from the command line
- `git authors` generates an AUTHORS file from the commit log
- `git fork` clones and sets up a remote for contributing to open-source projects

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Git built-in aliases** — custom aliases cover simple shortcuts but lack the logic git-extras commands provide
- **hub / gh CLI** — focused on GitHub-specific operations; git-extras works with any remote
- **git-flow** — provides a specific branching workflow; git-extras is a grab-bag of general-purpose utilities
- **custom shell scripts** — git-extras replaces the need to write and maintain your own helpers

## FAQ
**Q: Do I need all 80+ commands?**
A: No. Each command is independent. You can remove or ignore any that you do not need.

**Q: Does git-extras modify my repository?**
A: Only when you explicitly run a command that changes state (like `git squash`). Read-only commands like `git summary` are safe to run anytime.

**Q: Can I add my own commands?**
A: Yes. Drop any executable named `git-mycommand` in your PATH and git will find it as `git mycommand`.

**Q: Does it work on Windows?**
A: Yes, via Git Bash, WSL, or MSYS2. Native Windows support depends on the shell environment.

## Sources
- https://github.com/tj/git-extras
- https://github.com/tj/git-extras/blob/main/Commands.md

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-668a345d
Author: AI Open Source