A Quick GIT Commit Shortcut for CLI

Have you ever admired the consistent commit activity of prolific developers on GitHub? Take Taylor Otwell, the creator of Laravel, for example:

Seeing such graphs often inspires me to commit more regularly. As a long-time git user, I'm familiar with the standard commands, but typing them repeatedly can be tedious. The typical commit process looks like this:

git add .
git commit -m "commit message"
git push

To streamline this process, I've developed a couple of shortcuts that significantly speed up my workflow.

Simple Shortcut: The 'save' Command

First, I created a basic alias in my .zshrc file:

alias save="git add . && git commit -m 'x' && git push"

This allows me to simply type save to stage, commit, and push all changes. However, I wanted something more flexible and cool.

Advanced Shortcut: The 'yolo' Function

To allow for custom commit messages, I created a function in my .zshrc file:

function yolo() {
  local MESSAGE="${@:2}"
  personalgit
  git pull --rebase
  git add .
  git commit -m "${MESSAGE}"
  git push
}

Now I can use yolo -m 'Your commit message here' to quickly commit and push changes with a custom message.

Here's an example of how it works, I pushed this article to GitHub:

➜  electrode git:(develop) ✗ yolo -m "Push quick commit article"
[develop 3c64c51] Push quick commit article
 2 files changed, 66 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 content/quick-commit-shortcut-for-cli.mdx

This function does the following:

1. Accepts a commit message as an argument
2. Runs a personal git configuration (if needed)
3. Pulls and rebases to ensure we're up-to-date
4. Stages all changes
5. Commits with the provided message
6. Pushes the changes

Conclusion

By implementing these shortcuts, you can significantly streamline your git workflow. The 'yolo' function, in particular, offers a balance of speed and flexibility, allowing for quick commits with custom messages.

Remember, the key to a healthy GitHub activity graph isn't just about the tools, but about forming the habit of committing regularly. These shortcuts remove friction from the process, making it easier to maintain that habit.

Happy coding, and may your GitHub graphs be ever green!