What is git shortlog for?

shortlog summarizes the commit history by author. It is useful for seeing who contributes the most, generating a changelog, or getting an overview of a team's contributions.

How do I see the number of commits per author?

Use git shortlog -sn. The -s flag shows a summary (number of commits), -n sorts by descending count. Add -e to include email addresses.

How do I filter by time period?

Use --since and --until: git shortlog -sn --since="2025-01-01" --until="2025-06-30". You can also use relative periods: --since="3 months ago".

How do I generate a changelog with shortlog?

git shortlog v1.0..v2.0 shows contributions between two tags. This is often used to generate release notes for a project.

Why does the same author appear multiple times?

If an author has used different names or emails in their commits, shortlog treats them as different people. Use a .mailmap file at the root of the project to merge identities.

Git shortlog: contribution summary

git shortlog summarizes the commit history by author. Ideal for seeing who does what, counting contributions, and generating changelogs.

Practice git shortlog Git Glossary

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Team

What is git shortlog?

git shortlog groups commits by author and displays a clear summary of contributions. It is git log but organized by person.

It is like a dashboard: at a glance, you see who contributed what. Very useful in code review, project management, or for generating release notes.

Git shortlog syntax

git shortlog

Commits grouped by author

git shortlog -sn

Commit count by author (sorted)

git shortlog v1.0..v2.0

Contributions between two tags

Git shortlog in practice

Contribution summary and counting.

Summary by author

gitquest — shortlog

# Summary of commits by author

$git shortlog

Marie (5):

feat: add the form

fix: correct the validation

feat: contact page

docs: update the README

fix: broken link in footer

Pierre (3):

feat: authentication system

fix: expired session

refactor: clean up imports

Counting and filtering

gitquest — shortlog -sn

# Count commits by author (sorted)

$git shortlog -sn

5 Marie

3 Pierre

2 Luc

# Since a specific date

$git shortlog -sn --since="2025-01-01"

3 Marie

2 Pierre

# With email addresses

$git shortlog -sne

5 Marie <marie@example.com>

Essential shortlog commands

git shortlog -sn

Ranking by commit count

git shortlog -sne

With email addresses

git shortlog --since="date"

Filter from a date

git shortlog tag1..tag2

Between two versions

git shortlog --no-merges

Exclude merge commits

git shortlog --group=trailer:key

Group by commit trailer

Common mistakes with git shortlog

Duplicate author entries

The same author with different names/emails appears multiple times. Create a .mailmap file to merge identities.

Forgetting to exclude merges

Merge commits inflate the stats. Add --no-merges for figures more representative of actual work.

Judging contribution by commit count

The number of commits does not reflect the quality or amount of work. A major refactoring can be a single commit while typo fixes can produce ten.

Part of the Git History, Search & Debug guide

Related commands

git log

Full commit history

git blame

See the author of each line

git tag

Create versions for the changelog

GitQuest is created by Anaïs (nouvelle fenêtre), web developer and head of education, specializing in tech training and digital accessibility.

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