I am committing a file in the staging area for a project. I first run:
$ git commit -m "My first commit"
When I run that command I get the normal output. I read the output so I can under stand it because I am a beginner to Git and commands like this.
The output:
[master a227c12] My first commit
1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
create mode 100644 mls-test.md
After reading the output, I see [master a227c12]. I now that master is my branch, but what does a227c12 signal or mean? Does it mean like what type I am commiting? Plus, I want to know if I could use it for something and what command can I use if for if possible.
The a227c12 you see is the commit hash that Git generates automatically. Commit hash is a unique identifier for every single commit in a Git repository.
It's generated based on the content and metadata (like the commit message, author, timestamp, and changes you made)
Git usually displays a shortened version (typically the first 7 characters, like a227c12), but internally, the full hash is 40 characters long.
You can use a commit hash in many ways:
Inspect the changes in detail: git show a227c12
Undo changes (revert back to a previous commit): git revert a227c12
Check differences between commits: git diff a227c12~ a227c12 (~ returns a previous commut)
And much more.