checkout the first commit in the history containing a given String

Question

I think I have seen on twitter a way to specify a commit by providing a String that is contained in its message. So with a history like this

alpha <-- current head
beta
gamma
gamut
omega

git checkout <magic stuff>'gam' would checkout the commit with commit message gamma.

What was the syntax for this?

Note 1: I'm not actually sure that was for checkout, might have been for a different command, but I'm hoping for one that is universally applicable.

Note 2: It might not have been specifying a single commit but the range starting at that commit and ending at the current HEAD.

At least you are able to *search* the log with `git log --all --grep='gam'` — SevenEleven, Jun 09 '17 at 12:24
`git checkout $(git log --pretty=%H -1 --grep=gam)`. I'm not sure if it's what you have seen before. — ElpieKay, Jun 09 '17 at 12:24
@mp911de that's it. Please submit an answer so you might receive your well-earned internet karma. — Jens Schauder, Jun 09 '17 at 13:27

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 09 '17 at 13:29

2

Use the following form:

git checkout :/<term>

In your case it's:

git checkout :/gam

See https://stackoverflow.com/a/23303550/2067527 for more details on the various tree-ish and commit-ish forms.

answered Jun 09 '17 at 13:29

mp911de

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checkout the first commit in the history containing a given String

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