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https://github.com/erikjuhani/git-fixup

`git fixup` for better developer experience
https://github.com/erikjuhani/git-fixup

commit developer-experience fixup git rebase

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`git fixup` for better developer experience

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# git-fixup



Creates a git fixup commit that is amended automatically to the target commit.



'fzf' is used to improve the user experience by providing a selectable list of

usable commits. If 'fzf' is not found in the PATH user must provide the commit

hash to the 'git-fixup' command.



This command is intended to be used as a git alias. Aliases can be added to

'.gitconfig' file. Add an alias to the '.gitconfig' file called 'fixup' (or

some other preferred name) and point it to the location of this script.



```.gitconfig

[alias]

	fixup = git-fixup

```



## Problem statement



Applying changes to the last commit with git is trivial, but when applying

changes to older commits we need to run cumbersome commands to make the changes

and to keep the git history pristine.



I'm quite certain that many developers will face the issue of wanting to edit a

previous commit, especially when relying on rebase mechanics (as one should).

However, fixups are a great way to keep the context of the commit knowledge

within a single commit by directly modifying the existing commit and rebasing

the history.



If you are not familiar with rebasing, I highly recommend reading the following

chapter from the Pro Git book [3.6 Git Branching -

Rebasing](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Branching-Rebasing).



The usual flow for applying fixups is as follows:



```

# Stage changes for older commit in the branch

git add file.txt



# Find the commit hash by using the log command and copy the commit hash

git log --oneline origin..



# Create a fixup

git commit --fixup 



# Interactive rebase with autosquash and autostash

git rebase -i --autosquash --autostash

```



As we can see, the process itself is quite cumbersome and requires a better

approach, especially since this is a recurring operation that happens multiple

times a day.



## Solution



The solution is simple:



Create a git alias called `fixup` that will run a POSIX-compatible shell

script, which automates the cumbersome parts of the fixup operation.



The same example as above, but with the fixup command:



```

# Stage changes for older commit in the branch

git add file.txt



# Prompts fzf to select commit hash the fixup should be applied to.

# After selection creates a fixup that is rebased to the original commit.

git fixup

```



As we can see, the solution is vastly simpler than the original way of creating

fixup commits.



The one caveat is the requirement of the external dependency fzf, but I'd

imagine this is one of the 'default' tools developers have on their machines

anyway.



## Installation



Easiest way to install `git-fixup` is with [shm](https://github.com/erikjuhani/shm).



To install `shm` run either one of these one-liners:



curl:



```sh

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/erikjuhani/shm/main/shm.sh | sh

```



wget:



```sh

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/erikjuhani/shm/main/shm.sh | sh

```



then run:



```sh

shm get erikjuhani/git-fixup

```



to get the latest version of `git-fixup`.



`git-fixup` uses `fzf` which can be installed by following the instructions [here](https://github.com/junegunn/fzf#installation).



## Usage



```sh

git-fixup []

```



When commit hash is not provided `git-fixup` will use 'fzf' to provide a list

of selectable commits in the branch, however, if 'fzf' is not found in the

PATH, user _must_ provide a commit hash.



### Examples



#### Amend to older commit behind 2 commits in the current branch



```sh

git add file.txt

git-fixup HEAD~2

```



#### Amend to older commit in the current branch using git alias



```sh

git add file.txt

git fixup HEAD~2

```



#### Amend to selected commit with 'fzf'



```sh

git add file.txt

git-fixup

```