Customize Git Prompt in MinGW

Customize Git prompt to show dirty-state, untracked files, stash, upstream in your Bash console: MinGW64 (Minimalist GNU for Windows x64).

Overview

In this article, we will see how to customize Git prompt in MinGW64 (Minimalist GNU for Windows x64). By default, when current directory is a Git repo, MinGW only show limited information about the repository: the name of the current branch. It does not show the current states, such as dirty-state, untracked files, stash, upstream. This is not practical.

Before changing Git prompt (__git_ps1) Only branch name "master" is shown. More status?

Short Answer

Assume that the MinGW64 (Git Bash console) is installed when you downloaded the Git client from internet. Add these lines into the Bash profile ~/.bash_profile:

GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE=1
GIT_PS1_SHOWUNTRACKEDFILES=1
GIT_PS1_SHOWSTASHSTATE=1
GIT_PS1_SHOWUPSTREAM="auto verbose"

and then reload the Bash profile:

$ source ~/.bash_profile

Now, you’ll see more detail about different states in your Git projects, including dirty-state, untracked files, stash and upstream.

After changing Git prompt (__git_ps1)


Long Answer

If you want to know more about Git prompt, let’s continue for a more detailed answer. In the following paragraphs, I will explain:

  • What is PS1, and how it works
  • What is Git PS1
  • How Git PS1 is linked to PS1

PS1

In MinGW, you can see the value of custom prompt (PS1) by printing variable $PS1. And there’re two important notions here, they’re Bash prompt escape sequences and shell coloring. We will use them to understand the secrets behind PS1 :)

$ echo $PS1
\[\033]0;$TITLEPREFIX:${PWD//[^[:ascii:]]/?}\007\]\n\[\033[32m\]\u@\h \[\033[35m\]$MSYSTEM \[\033[33m\]\w\[\033[36m\]`__git_ps1`\[\033[0m\]\n$

Bash PS1 in MinGW64

The first line is the header of the window:

  • The first line starts with the title prefix of the terminal. In my case, it’s “MINGW64”. Then, followed by colon (:).
  • The first line continues with the current directory using PWD (print work directory). Note that the result is filtered by an ASCII filter, where other characters will be displayed as a question mark (?).

The second line:

  • The second line starts with the username of the current user \u, followed by symbol @, followed by the hostname up to the first dot (.). The color of this section is regular green (\[\033[32m\]).
  • The second line continues with the system type $MSYSTEM (stands for Microsoft system?). This value can be MINGW32, MINGW64, or others. The color of this section is regular purple (\[\033[35m\]).
  • The second line continues with the absolute path of the current working directory \w (w in lowercase). Note that w in uppercase \W will only show the last segment of the current working directory. The color of this section is regular yellow (\[\033[33m\]).
  • The second line ends with the Git prompt expression __git_ps1. We’ll go further on it in the next paragraph. The color of this section is regular cyan ([\033[36m\]).

After all, there’re still a line feed (\n) for starting a new line and a dollar symbol ($), which often signifies the end of the Bash prompt and the start of the user command.

Git Prompt (__git_ps1)

The Bash/Zsh Git prompt support is handled by script git-prompt.sh. This script allows you to see repository status in your prompt. You can define your own preferences by providing expressions GIT_PS1_* to your terminal. As far as expression __git_ps1 is called in your PS1 substitution, the Git status will show in your prompt.

In MinGW, we have already seen that __git_ps1 is called in PS1 substitution:

$ echo $PS1
...`__git_ps1`\[\033[0m\]\n$

So that’s why we can see the Git status.

Conclusion

In this article, we learnt how to customize Git prompt in Bash prompt using expressions GIT_PS1.*. It allows us to see more than the current branch name in Bash prompt: dirty-state, untracked files, stash and upstream. We also understand how Bash prompt is displayed via variable $PS1; what is Git Prompt and how it is linked to Bash prompt via __git_ps1. Hope you enjoy this article, see you the next time!


"Pro Git (2nd Edition)" contains everything you need to know about Git, written by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub. The print version is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/31CKi27


References