Better git status
Avoid needing to scroll git status

I’ve been using git status for quite a long time now. Let’s make it better.

My ~/.gitconfig has had:

[alias]
	s = status
	d = diff
	l = log --show-signature

for as long as I can remember. They’ve served me well.

In one of my projects, I occasionally have a bunch of untracked files, particularly when I’m hacking on something new that isn’t committed yet. This may include notes, new tests, and so on. My terminal is usually between 24 and 37 lines tall. (Eg: run tput lines.) If there’s a lot of untracked stuff here, I’ll quickly go over this limit and have to scroll to see what’s staged and so on.

Git can display the status in columns like ls does. I use git status --column=nodense. I don’t like to see column mode when I don’t have to. Git doesn’t support doing that magic so I built it.

Add the following to your ~/.gitconfig:

[alias]
        #s = status # goodbye old friend
        s = "!f() { rows=$(tput lines); lines=$(git status | wc -l); if [ \"$lines\" -gt \"$rows\" ]; then git status --column=nodense; else git status; fi; }; f"

Now whenever you run git s, you’ll only see the columns when it won’t fit.

Save seconds of keystrokes, and the hours will take care of themselves.

Enterprise support, training, and consulting are all available.

Happy Hacking,

James

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August 4, 2025
299 words

• technical