How To Show Git Branch with Colors in Bash Prompt

In the world of software development, Git is an essential tool that helps developers track and manage changes to their code. One of the many useful features of Git is its ability to create branches, allowing developers to work on different features concurrently without affecting the main codebase. When working with multiple branches, it can be helpful to have the branch name displayed in the terminal prompt, preferably in color, to easily identify the current working branch. This article will guide you on how to show the Git branch with colors in the Bash prompt.

Prerequisites

Before we start, ensure you have Git installed on your system. You can verify this by running the following command in your terminal:

git --version

If Git is installed, the command will return the installed version of Git. If not, you will need to install Git first.

Modifying the Bash Prompt

The Bash prompt is controlled by a special shell variable called PS1. By default, PS1 is set to display the username, hostname, and current working directory. We can customize PS1 to include the current Git branch.

Using parse_git_branch Function

The parse_git_branch function uses the git branch command to list all branches, then uses sed to filter out the current branch. The 2> /dev/null part suppresses error messages when we’re not in a Git repository.

Add the following code to your ~/.bashrc file:

parse_git_branch() {
 git branch 2> /dev/null | sed -e '/^[^*]/d' -e 's/* \(.*\)/(\1)/'
}

Then, modify the PS1 variable to include the parse_git_branch function. The \[\033[01;31m\] part sets the color of the branch name to red.

if [ "$color_prompt" = yes ]; then
 PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\[\033[01;32m\]\u@\h\[\033[00m\]:\[\033[01;34m\]\w\[\033[01;31m\]$(parse_git_branch)\[\033[00m\]\$ '
else
 PS1='${debian_chroot:+($debian_chroot)}\u@\h:\w$(parse_git_branch)\$ '
fi

Using __git_ps1 Function

The __git_ps1 function is a more robust method provided by Git itself. It provides more information and handles edge cases better than the parse_git_branch function.

Add the following code to your ~/.bashrc file:

export PS1='\u@\h \[\e[32m\]\w \[\e[91m\]$(__git_ps1)\[\e[00m\]$ '

Using git branch --show-current Command

The git branch --show-current command is a simple and direct way to get the current branch. It’s available in Git 2.22 and later.

Add the following code to your ~/.bashrc file:

export PS1='\u@\h \[\e[32m\]\w \[\e[91m\]$(git branch --show-current)\[\e[00m\]$ '

Applying the Changes

After modifying the ~/.bashrc file, you need to reload it for the changes to take effect. You can do this by running the following command:

source ~/.bashrc

Or simply close and reopen your terminal.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve learned how to show the Git branch with colors in the Bash prompt. This can greatly improve your workflow when working with multiple Git branches. Remember that you can further customize your Bash prompt to suit your personal preferences. Happy coding!