How to make github follow directory history after renames?

Question

Once a directory is renamed, "git log" no longer shows its history, unless you force it to, by using "git log --follow".

Is there a way to force the "history" function on the GitHub web UI to use "--follow"?

Alternatively - is there any way to see pre-rename history on GitHub?

I've opened a GitHub ticket, and got the following reply "There isn't currently. This is a known issue, I have a ticket open to get it fixed." — Guy, Apr 14 '11 at 08:38

VonC · Accepted Answer · 2022-06-06T17:42:26.620

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Update June 2022: GitHub now supports viewing commit history across file renames and moves!

.

2011: This was requested in 2009 (Request 129), and then in 2010 (Request 897), and then in 2021 (github/feedback discussion 6964):

I like this.
There could be other issues preventing us from plopping the --follow argument in.
I'll take a look and let you know.

... and then nothing for now.

Note: Git 2.6+ (Q3 2015) will propose that in command line: see "Why does git log not default to git log --follow?"

Note: Git 2.6.0 has been released and includes this feature. Following path changes in the log command can be enabled by setting the log.follow config option to true as in:

git config log.follow true

edited Jun 06 '22 at 17:42

answered Apr 13 '11 at 10:31

VonC

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These links both go to https://github.com/contact . I can't see requests themselves. – Philip Durbin Jan 11 '13 at 19:34
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@PhilipDurbin yes, GitHub has since removed its discussion section – VonC Jan 11 '13 at 19:35
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thanks, is there any public tracking of this feature request? – Philip Durbin Jan 11 '13 at 19:40
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https://github.com/github/feedback/discussions/6964 – Brian de Alwis Jan 06 '22 at 16:32
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@BriandeAlwis Thank you. I have added this reference to the list of issues/discussions requesting this feature in my answer. – VonC Jan 06 '22 at 17:07

Stafford Williams · Answer 2 · 2015-10-03T10:25:25.550

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I wrote a chrome extension to enable this. Source on github.

edited Oct 03 '15 at 10:25

answered Oct 02 '15 at 09:53

Stafford Williams

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Interesting. +1, nice workaround to [my own answer above](http://stackoverflow.com/a/5647721/6309). – VonC Oct 03 '15 at 15:47
Unfortunately, I believe GitHub redesigned the UI and this doesn't appear to be working anymore – The Fluffy Robot Oct 10 '20 at 22:46

score 17 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 02 '14 at 07:22

I've sent a mail to support@github.com (salutations removed):

Will "git --follow" functionality ever be implemented on Github? If yes, where can I track its progress?

(By "git --follow", I mean a way to easily see the object revisions before a rename. Currently, when an item is renamed, Github doesn't offer an easy way to display the directory / file history.)

Response:

> Will "git --follow" functionality ever be implemented on Github? If yes, where can I track its progress?

This is something a few other users have requested as well -- we might add it in the future. We currently don't have a public issue tracker, but I'll put another +1 next to it on the Feature Request List™ for the team to see.

So, "git --follow" is unfortunately not supported yet.

To get such functionality in the meantime, I guess you could write a user script that looks up the hash of the parent object, (recursively) look up its history and render the result.

Interesting feedback, which confirms my answer. +1. Next question for GitHub: where is this "Feature Request List" for the users to vote on? ;) — VonC, Feb 02 '14 at 08:49
Another update: *"Thanks for getting in touch. This hasn't been shipped, however we definitely appreciate the feedback. I'll add a +1 to this item on our internal Feature Request List, however I can't make any promises if/when this might be available."* — user247702, Oct 14 '14 at 15:49
Another option is to setup project mirror (or just migrate there) on GitLab and preview history there. GitLab does support that. — jangorecki, Sep 17 '19 at 19:28

How to make github follow directory history after renames?

3 Answers3

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