The git release cheat sheet

Quick reference

Tag

$git tag -a v1.4.0 -m "release 1.4.0"
$git tag --list 'v1.*' --sort=-v:refname
$git push origin v1.4.0
$git show v1.4.0 --stat
$git tag -d v1.4.0

Changelog

$git log --pretty=format:%s v1.3.0..v1.4.0
$git log --oneline v1.3.0..v1.4.0
$git shortlog -sn v1.3.0..v1.4.0
$git log --grep='^feat' v1.3.0..v1.4.0
$git log --format='%h %s' -n 20

Hotfix

$git switch -c hotfix/1.4.1 v1.4.0
$git commit -am "fix: tax rounding"
$git tag -a v1.4.1 -m "hotfix 1.4.1"
$git push origin hotfix/1.4.1 v1.4.1
$git cherry-pick -x 9f2c1ab

Revert

$git revert --no-edit 9f2c1ab
$git revert -m 1 4d2e8f0
$git revert --no-commit v1.4.0..HEAD
$git revert --abort
$git log --oneline -5

Explained

Tag

Annotated tags carry a message and a date; lightweight tags do not. git tag -a tags the commit CI passed, git push origin publishes it, and git tag --sort=-v:refname lists the newest first.

Changelog

git log --pretty=format:'%s' between two tags prints one subject per commit, which is the raw material for release notes. --oneline adds the short hash; shortlog -sn counts contributions per author; --grep='^feat' isolates the features. None of them writes the story, but they stop you inventing it.

Hotfix

Branch from the running tag, not a later main: git switch -c hotfix/1.4.1 v1.4.0. Commit the smallest fix, tag it, push the branch and the tag, then merge the fix back so the next release contains it. cherry-pick -x copies a fix and records where it came from.

Revert

git revert creates a commit that undoes a change, which is safe on a shared branch because history stays intact. For a merge, -m 1 chooses the mainline parent. A range with --no-commit lets you read first; --abort exits.

In one line

Read the range

$git log --oneline v1.3.0..v1.4.0