B-branch

A git extension for better branch management

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• Premise
  • Features
  • Example
• Usage
  • Options
• Download
• Contributing
• Acknowledgments
• License
• FQAs

Premise 🚀

B-branch is a tool that enhances Git branch management with a convenient git alias. Inspired by the talk So You Think You Know Git? by Scott Chacon, B-branch offers a more organized view of your branches, simplifying your workflow.

Traditional git branch commands sort branches alphabetically, making it hard to find recent ones. B-branch solves this by displaying branch information like the last commit date and commit differences with the upstream branch, all in a structured format.

Cross-Platform Support: B-branch runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS with no dependencies required when using the compiled executable. Download the latest release for free!

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key benefits

• Quickly identify the branch you need.
• Access additional branch details not available with git branch.
• Enjoy reliable, high-performance, cross-platform support.

Features

• Branch information: Displays the branch name, the date of the last commit, the number of commits ahead or behind the upstream branch, and the branch description.

• Branch description: Git offers the ability to add a description to a branch. B-branch displays this description in the output.

• Pager interface: If the output is too large to fit on the screen, the output will be displayed in a pager interface. While in the pager interface.

  • q: Quit the pager interface.
  • j OR Down Arrow: Move down one line.
  • k OR Up Arrow: Move up one line.
  • f OR Space: Move down one page.
  • b: Move up one page.
  • g OR HOME: Move to the top of the output.
  • G OR END: Move to the bottom of the output.
  • /: Search for a string in the output.
  • Escape: Clear the search.

Example

Let's say you have a git repository with a lot of branches. You want to remove the branches that are no longer needed.

git bb --no-contains "main;development" -q \
| awk '{print substr($0, 3)}' \
| xargs -I {} git branch -D {}

Important

This command will delete all branches that do not contain the strings "main" or "development". Be careful when using this command.

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The ability to see the branch description is also a feature that is not available in the standard git branch command. To add a description to a branch, use the following command:

git branch --edit-description

Note

Keep in mind that the description is stored in the .git/EDIT_DESCRIPTION and does not support a description on multiple branches.

Usage

git bb [<options>] [<additional arguments>]

Options

Generic options:

Flag	Description
-h, --help	Show the help message.
-v, --version	Show the current version of the tool.
-q, --quiet	Suppress additional output, showing only branch names.

Filtering options:

Flag	Description
-c, --contains	List branches containing the specified string.
-n, --no-contains	List branches not containing the specified string.
-s, --sort	Sort branches by `<date
-t, --track	Show upstream relationship of the specified branch.
-a, --all	List both local and remote branches.
-r, --remote	List only remote branches.
-p, --print-top	Show the top N branches based on sort criterion.

Display options:

Flag	Description
--pager	Force output to display in a pager.
--no-pager	Display output directly in the console.

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Download 💻

Download the latest release for free! If you're using Cygwin, Git Bash, MSYS2, Bash in linux or WSL, you can also use the install script:

curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SimonNyvall/b-branch/main/install.sh | sh

For a manual installation, follow the steps in the release notes.

Note

For full experience, download the latest version of the nerd-fonts and install it on your system.

Contributing

We welcome contributions to B-branch! If you have suggestions or improvements, please adhere to the following guidelines when contributing to the project. Don't forget to give the project a star! ⭐ Thanks again!

Acknowledgments 📣

This project was inspired by the innovative ideas shared by GitButler. Check out their video for more insights into enhancing Git workflows.

License 📖

This project is licensed under the GPL-3.0 License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.

FQAs

• Q: How do I add a description to a branch?

  • A: Use the following command: git branch --edit-description

• Q: Can I use this instead of the standard git branch command?

  • A: B-branch only helps developers view branch information. It does not replace the standard git branch command.

• Q: Will B-branch slow down git?

  • A: No, the extension works with an alias and does not affect the performance of git.

• Q: What is a common use case for B-branch?

  • A: A common use case I use is to check how many commits I am behind or ahead of the upstream main branch. To see if I need to pull or merge the changes. This can be done by running git bb -t "origin/main".