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I didn't want to lose some information after a git pull, so I did a git fetch before. Where can I read the new modifications after a git fetch? I went to the FETCH_HEAD file, but there was nothing more than a big number.

Mark Fisher
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epsilones
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    Do you have access to `gitk`? If you do, run `gitk --all` to view the current state of all your branches on your local machine, even those branches updated by the fetch. – creemama May 21 '12 at 01:04
  • try `git show object` where object is the big hashed number... – Prince John Wesley May 21 '12 at 01:06
  • gitk command works but not gitk all. (By the way, i didn't precise that the remote repository was not changed by me ). In the gitk window, there's no file which indicates the fetched datas – epsilones May 21 '12 at 01:08
  • Thanks the git show command did work fine !! Best, Newben – epsilones May 21 '12 at 01:15

4 Answers4

107

git fetch origin by default fetches everything from the remote named "origin" and updates (or creates) the so-called "remote-tracking branches" for that remote. Say, for the remote named "origin" which contain branches named "master" and "feature", running git fetch remote will result in the remote-tracking branches named "origin/master" and "origin/feature" being updated (or created, if they're not exist). You could see them in the output of git branch -a (notice "-a").

Now, the usual Git setup is that (some of) your local branches follow certain remote branches (usually same-named). That is, your local "master" branch follows "origin/master" etc.

So, after you fetched, to see what remote "master" has compared to your local "master", you ask Git to show you exactly this:

git log origin/master ^master

which means «all commits reachable from "origin/master" which do not include commits reachable from "master"» or, alternatively

git log master..origin/master

which has the same meaning. See the "gitrevisions" manual page for more info, especially the "Specifying ranges" part. Also see the examples in the git-log manual page

You're free to customize the output of git log as you see fit as it supports a whole lot of options affecting it.

Note that your local branch might also have commits which the matching remote branch does not contain (yet). To get an overview of them you have to reverse the revisions passed to git log for (hopefully) obvious reasons.

As usual, it's essential to educate yourself to understand the underlying concepts before starting to use a tool. Please do.

Cindy Meister
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kostix
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    Any reason that `git diff master origin/master` wasn't mentioned? It seems to address the OP's question very simply...? (I'm newish to Git and learning so please correct me if wrong.) – Howiecamp Aug 08 '16 at 23:26
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    @Howiecamp: that produces different results if you've added commits to *your* `master` that you did not get from *their* `master` (your now-updated `origin/master`). It's not a *wrong* thing to do, but it won't show you the *commits they have that you don't* (have on your `master`), while the `git log` will do exactly that. – torek Jun 16 '18 at 16:04
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If you just want to see what files will be modified if you do a GIT PULL, do this:

git fetch && git diff HEAD @{u} --name-only

If you want to see ALL differences between your current version and the incoming version, including uncommited local modifications, type this:

git fetch && git diff @{u} --name-only
Eliezer Berlin
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    I had the same question and I found the answer here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19474577/what-does-the-argument-u-mean-in-git. In short: `It is a shortcut to refer to the upstream branch which the current branch is tracking` – Lunfel Apr 19 '20 at 01:12
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Try

git log --oneline --decorate origin/master

This will give you the change log from the master head of the origin remote (you can substitute any other remote branch as needed). You'll get an output somewhat like this:

234121 (origin/master) Commit message 5
872373 Commit message 4
623748 Commit message 3
235090 (master) Commit message 2
192399 Commit message 1

The commit marked (master) is the head of your local master branch. The commit marked (origin/master) is the head of the remote's master branch.

Barend
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I mostly do git log origin/master to see the log of remote repo. You can compare changes like git diff master origin/master which will compare the changes of the master branch with your master branch in remote repo.