Git alias to add prefix to name of new branch

Question

Is there a way to write an alias that adds current date to name of new branch?

For example:

git branch-today new_branch_name

should create new branch with 22_09_2015_new_branch_name name.

Wherever possible, please use YYYY-MM-DD ([ISO 8601](http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/iso8601.htm)). The date format you have chosen (DD_MM_YYYY) is ambiguous. — Jared Beck, Sep 22 '15 at 15:51
@JaredBeck Strictly speaking, YYYY-MM-DD is just as ambiguous as DD_MM_YYYY. 1999-01-02 could be the second day of January, or the first day of February. It's not the format or the order of the components that makes it unambiguious - it's the agreed-upon interpretation of the format that makes it unambiguous. Thus, as long as all users of DD_MM_YYYY agree upon a "standard" interpretation, that format is just as valid as your ISO proposal. That said, I do tend to prefer ISO 8601-like formats for sortability... — twalberg, Sep 22 '15 at 18:46

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 22 '15 at 15:41

3

Create a git alias and add it to your .gitconfig

[alias]
        branch-today = "!bt() { git branch $(date +%d-%m-%Y)_$1;}; bt"

git branch-today foo

Git branch output:

  22-09-2015_foo
* master

answered Sep 22 '15 at 15:41

pcantalupo

Can you explain the `!bt()`? I'm guessing the `!` starts a subshell and that `bt()` defines a bash function. – Jared Beck Sep 22 '15 at 15:53
explained best here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3321492/git-alias-with-positional-parameters – pcantalupo Sep 22 '15 at 17:17

1 Answers1