Compare revisions

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  • Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated

Use Compare revisions to view the list of commits and files changed between revisions.

You can compare:

  • A branch to another branch.
  • A tag to a branch or tag.
  • A commit to another commit or branch.

Compare methods

GitLab provides two methods to compare revisions:

  • Only incoming changes from source (default): Displays differences from the source after the latest common commit on both revisions. This method excludes unrelated changes made to the target after the source was created. Use this to view only the changes introduced by the source revision.

    This method uses the git diff <from>...<to> Git command. It compares from the merge base (the common ancestor commit) to the target, instead of comparing the actual commits directly.

  • Include changes to target after source was created: Displays all differences between the two revisions, including changes made to both the source and target. Use this to view the complete difference between two points in your repository’s history.

    This method uses the git diff <from> <to> Git command. It compares the actual commits directly, displaying all changes between them.

Compare branches, tags, or commits

To compare revisions:

  1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.

  2. Select Code > Compare revisions.

  3. Select the Source revision:

    • To search for a branch, enter the branch name. Exact matches are shown first.
    • To search for a tag, enter the tag name.
    • To search for a commit, enter the commit SHA.
    • To refine your search with operators:
      • ^ matches the beginning of the name: ^feat matches feat/user-authentication.
      • $ matches the end of the name: widget$ matches feat/search-box-widget.
      • * matches using a wildcard: branch*cache* matches fix/branch-search-cache-expiration.
      • You can combine operators: ^chore/*migration$ matches chore/user-data-migration.

  4. Select the Target repository and revision.

  5. Below Show changes, select either Only incoming changes from source (default) or Include changes to target after source was created.

  6. Select Compare.

  7. Optional. To reverse the Source and Target, select Swap revisions (substitute).

The comparison page displays the list of commits and files changed between the revisions.