Git Aliases for Status and Diff Shortcuts

Status and Diff Shortcuts

These aliases provide faster access to the most frequently checked information:

[alias]
    st = status
    ss = status -sb
    df = diff
    dc = diff --cached
    ds = diff --stat

st and ss — Status Variants

The basic st alias is a simple abbreviation. The ss alias is more interesting:

git ss
# ## main...origin/main
#  M src/app.ts
# ?? new-file.txt
# A  staged-file.ts

The -s flag gives short format output, and -b adds the branch and tracking info. Together they produce a compact, scannable summary.

Status Symbols

Symbol	Meaning
M	Modified
A	Added (staged)
D	Deleted
R	Renamed
??	Untracked
!!	Ignored

The left column shows the staging area status, the right column shows the working tree status.

df, dc, ds — Diff Variants

Alias	Shows
df	Unstaged changes (working tree vs staging area)
dc	Staged changes (staging area vs last commit)
ds	Summary of changed files with line counts

The dc alias (diff --cached) is particularly important. It shows exactly what will be included in the next commit, which is essential for reviewing before committing.

Combining Status and Diff

A common workflow:

git ss           # Quick overview of changed files
git dc           # Review what's staged
git commit -m "..."  # Commit with confidence