# Weekly Git Command #1: git show

Before I started contributing to Git via Outreachy, most of my interaction with Git stopped at cloning repositories, committing changes, and pushing code.

During the contribution phase, I began encountering Git commands that aren’t commonly mentioned in beginner tutorials. One of the first useful ones I learned is git show.

## What `git show` does

git show is used to display information about Git objects, most commonly commits.

At its simplest, it shows:

* Commit message
    
* Author and date
    
* The exact changes introduced by that commit
    

### Basic usage

```bash
git show
```

This shows details of the most recent commit.

You can also inspect a specific commit:

```bash
git show <commit>
```

Or even view a tag:

```bash
git show v2.45.0
```

### Why it’s useful

While contributing, I found `git show` helpful when:

* Reviewing what exactly changed in a commit
    
* Understanding why a change was introduced
    
* Inspecting commits referenced in discussions or patches
    

Instead of switching tools or opening a browser, I could quickly inspect changes directly from the terminal.

### Small tip

You can limit what git show displays. For example, to only see the commit message and summary:

```bash
git show --stat
```

## Final thoughts

`git show` is simple, but powerful. It’s one of those commands that quietly becomes part of your daily workflow once you know it exists.

This is the first post in my Weekly Git Command series, where I’ll be sharing Git commands I’m learning while contributing to Git through Outreachy.