Git commit -m with multiple line

Question

How do I produce a multiline comment in my git commit using -m

$ git commit -m "This change is for blah"
$ git commit -m "This change is for blah\nAnd also for this blah"

The second line, the \n doesn't produce a multiline comment

I'm using Mac terminal, not sure if that matter.

and this: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/30423751/how-to-do-a-multiline-commit-message-in-git — Chris Maes, Oct 18 '19 at 14:52
`git commit` doesn't do any processing of the argument to `-m`; it's just a single string. Any method of embedding newline characters in that string will depend on how you specify the argument. — chepner, Oct 18 '19 at 14:59

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 18 '19 at 15:13

4

In many environments (MacOS included) you can just hit enter to end the first line, as long as the quotes for the message are still open.

git commit -m "this is
a multiline
message"

Another option is to compose the message in a file and use -F. (This is a more scriptable alternative to letting a text editor open for the commit message.)

The "multiple -m option' approach others are suggesting kinda-sorta works, but puts blank lines between the messages in my tests.

edited Oct 18 '19 at 15:13

Romain Valeri

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answered Oct 18 '19 at 14:50

Mark Adelsberger

36,896
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Using `-m` more than once is documented to create separate *paragraphs* in the commit message, not just separate lines, hence the blank lines. – chepner Oct 18 '19 at 15:01

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 25 '22 at 17:41

1

Consider using --file instead of -m. You can prepare the message in a file and then commit like this:

git commit --file=../commit_message

answered Mar 25 '22 at 17:41

Peter Evselyev

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 18 '19 at 14:49

0

If you just use

git commit

It will open your editor and allow you to add more complex commit messages.

If you use

git commit -m "This is for blah" -m "This is more text"

it should commit several lines of text.

answered Oct 18 '19 at 14:49

Kenny Grant

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Multiple uses of `-m` will commit several *paragraphs*, not just several lines. – chepner Oct 18 '19 at 14:58
@chepner that's usually desired, as the convention is to have a blank line after the summary line and the summary line should be a single line and on the shorter side. – siride Mar 25 '22 at 17:46

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 18 '19 at 15:42

This depends on your shell, most shells have a process-C-escapes marker. bash and I think many others use $''.

git commit -m subject -m $'this\nhas\nexplicit\nlinebreaks'

Just a note, git log can do word wrapping for you anyway, try

git log --pretty='%h%+w(76,6,9)%B'

for starters.

Git commit -m with multiple line

4 Answers4