Skip to content

modify_git_commit.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
68 lines (49 loc) · 2.48 KB

modify_git_commit.md

File metadata and controls

68 lines (49 loc) · 2.48 KB

modify_git_commit.sh

Rewrite Git history to update the author/committer date and/or message of a specific commit.

Modify timestamp and/or message of a specified commit hash in one command. Supports current time (now) or RFC2822 formatted dates. Uses git filter-branch to rewrite history from the target commit onwards.

Must be run from the repository root. Clean working tree recommended (uncommitted changes may interfere).

Without this script With this script
git rebase -i HEAD~N, mark edit, amend, continue ./modify_git_commit.sh -t now abc123
Complex interactive rebase for simple fixes One command with validation
Manual date formatting Accepts "now" or RFC2822 dates

Usage

./modify_git_commit.sh [-v] (-t [timestamp|now] | -m message | -t [timestamp|now] -m message) <commit_hash>

Options

  • -v – verbose mode with detailed progress
  • -t [timestamp|now] – update timestamp (uses current time if no value provided)
  • -m message – new commit message
  • commit_hash – hash of commit to modify (required, must be last)

At least one of -t or -m must be specified.

Examples

# Update timestamp to current time
./modify_git_commit.sh -t abc123

# Update to specific date
./modify_git_commit.sh -t "Thu, 13 Nov 2025 13:50:00 +0000" abc123

# Update message only
./modify_git_commit.sh -m "New commit message" abc123

# Update both
./modify_git_commit.sh -t now -m "Updated commit" abc123

# Verbose mode
./modify_git_commit.sh -v -t now -m "Updated commit" abc123

Sample Output

Warning: git filter-branch is deprecated. Consider installing git-filter-repo for better performance.
Rewrite 3a4b5c6d7e8f9g0h1i2j3k4l5m6n7o8p9q0r1s (2/5) (--- seconds passed, remaining --- seconds)
Rewrite a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6q7r8s9t (4/5) (--- seconds passed, remaining --- seconds)

Commit a1b2c3d has been updated.
New commit hash: d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6q7r8s9t0u1v
New date: Mon, 28 Apr 2025 14:30:00 +0000
New message: Updated commit message

Note: This rewrites history. Force pushing will overwrite remote commits.
IMPORTANT: Push rewritten history with: git push origin main --force (or use --force-with-lease)

Warnings

  • Rewrites Git history – all commits from the target onwards get new hashes
  • Requires force push: git push origin BRANCH_NAME --force
  • Consider --force-with-lease for safer pushing
  • git filter-branch is deprecated; install git-filter-repo for better performance