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Revsets

Jujutsu supports a functional language for selecting a set of revisions. Expressions in this language are called "revsets" (the idea comes from Mercurial). The language consists of symbols, operators, and functions.

Most jj commands accept a revset (or multiple). Many commands, such as jj diff -r <revset> expect the revset to resolve to a single commit; it is an error to pass a revset that resolves to more than one commit (or zero commits) to such commands.

The words "revisions" and "commits" are used interchangeably in this document.

Most revsets search only the visible commits. Other commits are only included if you explicitly mention them (e.g. by commit ID or a Git ref pointing to them).

Symbols

The @ expression refers to the working copy commit in the current workspace. Use <workspace name>@ to refer to the working-copy commit in another workspace. Use <name>@<remote> to refer to a remote-tracking branch.

A full commit ID refers to a single commit. A unique prefix of the full commit ID can also be used. It is an error to use a non-unique prefix.

A full change ID refers to all visible commits with that change ID (there is typically only one visible commit with a given change ID). A unique prefix of the full change ID can also be used. It is an error to use a non-unique prefix.

Use single or double quotes to prevent a symbol from being interpreted as an expression. For example, "x-" is the symbol x-, not the parents of symbol x. Taking shell quoting into account, you may need to use something like jj log -r '"x-"'.

Priority

Jujutsu attempts to resolve a symbol in the following order:

  1. Tag name
  2. Branch name
  3. Git ref
  4. Commit ID or change ID

Operators

The following operators are supported. x and y below can be any revset, not only symbols.

  • x-: Parents of x, can be empty.
  • x+: Children of x, can be empty.
  • x::: Descendants of x, including the commits in x itself. Shorthand for x::visible_heads().
  • x..: Revisions that are not ancestors of x. Shorthand for x..visible_heads().
  • ::x: Ancestors of x, including the commits in x itself. Shorthand for root()::x.
  • ..x: Ancestors of x, including the commits in x itself, but excluding the root commit. Shorthand for root()..x. Equivalent to ::x ~ root().
  • x::y: Descendants of x that are also ancestors of y. Equivalent to x:: & ::y. This is what git log calls --ancestry-path x..y.
  • x..y: Ancestors of y that are not also ancestors of x. Equivalent to ::y ~ ::x. This is what git log calls x..y (i.e. the same as we call it).
  • ::: All visible commits in the repo. Shorthand for root()::visible_heads(). Equivalent to all().
  • ..: All visible commits in the repo, but excluding the root commit. Shorthand for root()..visible_heads(). Equivalent to ~root().
  • ~x: Revisions that are not in x.
  • x & y: Revisions that are in both x and y.
  • x ~ y: Revisions that are in x but not in y.
  • x | y: Revisions that are in either x or y (or both).

(listed in order of binding strengths)

You can use parentheses to control evaluation order, such as (x & y) | z or x & (y | z).

Examples

Given this history: 

D
|\
| o C
| |
o | B
|/
o A
|
o root()

Operator x-

  • D- ⇒ {C,B}
  • B- ⇒ {A}
  • A- ⇒ {root()}
  • root()- ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • none()- ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • (D|A)- ⇒ {C,B,root()}
  • (C|B)- ⇒ {A}

Operator x+

  • D+ ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • B+ ⇒ {D}
  • A+ ⇒ {B,C}
  • root()+ ⇒ {A}
  • none()+ ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • (C|B)+ ⇒ {D}
  • (B|root())+ ⇒ {D,A}

Operator x::

  • D:: ⇒ {D}
  • B:: ⇒ {D,B}
  • A:: ⇒ {D,C,B,A}
  • root():: ⇒ {D,C,B,A,root()}
  • none():: ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • (C|B):: ⇒ {D,C,B}

Operator x..

  • D.. ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • B.. ⇒ {D,C} (note that, unlike B::, this includes C)
  • A.. ⇒ {D,C,B}
  • root().. ⇒ {D,C,B,A}
  • none().. ⇒ {D,C,B,A,root()}
  • (C|B).. ⇒ {D}

Operator ::x

  • ::D ⇒ {D,C,B,A,root()}
  • ::B ⇒ {B,A,root()}
  • ::A ⇒ {A,root()}
  • ::root() ⇒ {root()}
  • ::none() ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • ::(C|B) ⇒ {C,B,A,root()}

Operator ..x

  • ..D ⇒ {D,C,B,A}
  • ..B ⇒ {B,A}
  • ..A ⇒ {A}
  • ..root() ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • ..none() ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • ..(C|B) ⇒ {C,B,A}

Operator x::y

  • D::D ⇒ {D}
  • B::D ⇒ {D,B} (note that, unlike B..D, this includes B and excludes C)
  • A::D ⇒ {D,C,B,A}
  • root()::D ⇒ {D,C,B,A,root()}
  • none()::D ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • D::B ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • (C|B)::(C|B) ⇒ {C,B}

Operator x..y

  • D..D ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • B..D ⇒ {D,C} (note that, unlike B::D, this includes C and excludes B)
  • A..D ⇒ {D,C,B}
  • root()..D ⇒ {D,C,B,A}
  • none()..D ⇒ {D,C,B,A,root()}
  • D..B ⇒ {} (empty set)
  • (C|B)..(C|B) ⇒ {} (empty set)

Functions

You can also specify revisions by using functions. Some functions take other revsets (expressions) as arguments.

  • parents(x): Same as x-.

  • children(x): Same as x+.

  • ancestors(x[, depth]): ancestors(x) is the same as ::x. ancestors(x, depth) returns the ancestors of x limited to the given depth.

  • descendants(x[, depth]): descendants(x) is the same as x::. descendants(x, depth) returns the descendants of x limited to the given depth.

  • reachable(srcs, domain): All commits reachable from srcs within domain, traversing all parent and child edges.

  • connected(x): Same as x::x. Useful when x includes several commits.

  • all(): All visible commits in the repo.

  • none(): No commits. This function is rarely useful; it is provided for completeness.

  • branches([pattern]): All local branch targets. If pattern is specified, this selects the branches whose name match the given string pattern. For example, branches(push) would match the branches push-123 and repushed but not the branch main. If a branch is in a conflicted state, all its possible targets are included.

  • remote_branches([branch_pattern[, [remote=]remote_pattern]]): All remote branch targets across all remotes. If just the branch_pattern is specified, the branches whose names match the given string pattern across all remotes are selected. If both branch_pattern and remote_pattern are specified, the selection is further restricted to just the remotes whose names match remote_pattern.

    For example, remote_branches(push, ri) would match the branches push-123@origin and repushed@private but not push-123@upstream or main@origin or main@upstream. If a branch is in a conflicted state, all its possible targets are included.

    While Git-tracking branches can be selected by <name>@git, these branches aren't included in remote_branches().

  • tracked_remote_branches([branch_pattern[, [remote=]remote_pattern]]): All targets of tracked remote branches. Supports the same optional arguments as remote_branches().

  • untracked_remote_branches([branch_pattern[, [remote=]remote_pattern]]): All targets of untracked remote branches. Supports the same optional arguments as remote_branches().

  • tags(): All tag targets. If a tag is in a conflicted state, all its possible targets are included.

  • git_refs(): All Git ref targets as of the last import. If a Git ref is in a conflicted state, all its possible targets are included.

  • git_head(): The Git HEAD target as of the last import. Equivalent to present(HEAD@git).

  • visible_heads(): All visible heads (same as heads(all())).

  • root(): The virtual commit that is the oldest ancestor of all other commits.

  • heads(x): Commits in x that are not ancestors of other commits in x. Note that this is different from Mercurial's heads(x) function, which is equivalent to x ~ x-.

  • roots(x): Commits in x that are not descendants of other commits in x. Note that this is different from Mercurial's roots(x) function, which is equivalent to x ~ x+.

  • latest(x[, count]): Latest count commits in x, based on committer timestamp. The default count is 1.

  • merges(): Merge commits.

  • description(pattern): Commits that have a description matching the given string pattern.

  • author(pattern): Commits with the author's name or email matching the given string pattern.

  • mine(): Commits where the author's email matches the email of the current user.

  • committer(pattern): Commits with the committer's name or email matching the given string pattern.

  • author_date(pattern): Commits with author dates matching the specified date pattern.

  • committer_date(pattern): Commits with committer dates matching the specified date pattern.

  • empty(): Commits modifying no files. This also includes merges() without user modifications and root().

  • file(expression): Commits modifying paths matching the given fileset expression.

    Paths are relative to the directory jj was invoked from. A directory name will match all files in that directory and its subdirectories.

    For example, file(foo) will match files foo, foo/bar, foo/bar/baz. It will not match foobar or bar/foo.

    Some file patterns might need quoting because the expression must also be parsable as a revset. For example, . has to be quoted in file(".").

  • diff_contains(text[, files]): Commits containing diffs matching the given text pattern line by line.

    The search paths can be narrowed by the files expression. All modified files are scanned by default, but it is likely to change in future version to respect the command line path arguments.

    For example, diff_contains("TODO", "src") will search revisions where "TODO" is added to or removed from files under "src".

  • conflict(): Commits with conflicts.

  • present(x): Same as x, but evaluated to none() if any of the commits in x doesn't exist (e.g. is an unknown branch name.)

  • working_copies(): The working copy commits across all the workspaces.

Examples

Given this history: 

E
|
| D
|/|
| o C
| |
o | B
|/
o A
|
o root()

function reachable()

  • reachable(E, A..) ⇒ {E,D,C,B}
  • reachable(D, A..) ⇒ {E,D,C,B}
  • reachable(C, A..) ⇒ {E,D,C,B}
  • reachable(B, A..) ⇒ {E,D,C,B}
  • reachable(A, A..) ⇒ {} (empty set)

function connected()

  • connected(E|A) ⇒ {E,B,A}
  • connected(D|A) ⇒ {D,C,B,A}
  • connected(A) ⇒ {A}

function heads()

  • heads(E|D) ⇒ {E,D}
  • heads(E|C) ⇒ {E,C}
  • heads(E|B) ⇒ {E}
  • heads(E|A) ⇒ {E}
  • heads(A) ⇒ {A}

function roots()

  • roots(E|D) ⇒ {E,D}
  • roots(E|C) ⇒ {E,C}
  • roots(E|B) ⇒ {B}
  • roots(E|A) ⇒ {A}
  • roots(A) ⇒ {A}

String patterns

Functions that perform string matching support the following pattern syntax:

  • "string", or string (the quotes are optional), or substring:"string": Matches strings that contain string.
  • exact:"string": Matches strings exactly equal to string.
  • glob:"pattern": Matches strings with Unix-style shell wildcard pattern.
  • regex:"pattern": Matches substrings with regular expression pattern.

You can append -i after the kind to match case‐insensitively (e.g. glob-i:"fix*jpeg*").

Date patterns

Functions that perform date matching support the following pattern syntax:

  • after:"string": Matches dates exactly at or after the given date.
  • before:"string": Matches dates before, but not including, the given date.

Date strings can be specified in several forms, including:

  • 2024-02-01
  • 2024-02-01T12:00:00
  • 2024-02-01T12:00:00-08:00
  • 2024-02-01 12:00:00
  • 2 days ago
  • 5 minutes ago
  • yesterday
  • yesterday 5pm
  • yesterday 10:30
  • yesterday 15:30

Aliases

New symbols and functions can be defined in the config file, by using any combination of the predefined symbols/functions and other aliases.

Alias functions can be overloaded by the number of parameters. However, builtin function will be shadowed by name, and can't co-exist with aliases.

For example:

[revset-aliases]
'HEAD' = '@-'
'user()' = 'user("me@example.org")'
'user(x)' = 'author(x) | committer(x)'

Built-in Aliases

The following aliases are built-in and used for certain operations. These functions are defined as aliases in order to allow you to overwrite them as needed. See revsets.toml for a comprehensive list.

  • trunk(): Resolves to the head commit for the trunk branch of the remote named origin or upstream. The branches main, master, and trunk are tried. If more than one potential trunk commit exists, the newest one is chosen. If none of the branches exist, the revset evaluates to root().

    When working with an existing Git repository (via jj git clone or jj git init), trunk() will be overridden at the repository level to the default branch of the remote origin.

    You can override this as appropriate. If you do, make sure it always resolves to exactly one commit. For example:

    [revset-aliases]
'trunk()' = 'your-branch@your-remote'

  • builtin_immutable_heads(): Resolves to trunk() | tags() | untracked_remote_branches(). It is used as the default definition for immutable_heads() below. it is not recommended to redefined this alias. Prefer to redefine immutable_heads() instead.

  • immutable_heads(): Resolves to trunk() | tags() | untracked_remote_branches() by default. It is actually defined as builtin_immutable_heads(), and can be overridden as required. See here for details.

  • immutable(): The set of commits that jj treats as immutable. This is equivalent to ::(immutable_heads() | root()). It is not recommended to redefine this alias. Note that modifying this will not change whether a commit is immutable. To do that, edit immutable_heads().

  • mutable(): The set of commits that jj treats as mutable. This is equivalent to ~immutable(). It is not recommended to redefined this alias. Note that modifying this will not change whether a commit is immutable. To do that, edit immutable_heads().

The all: modifier

Certain commands (such as jj rebase) can take multiple revset arguments, and each of these may resolve to one-or-many revisions. By default, jj will not allow revsets that resolve to more than one revision — a so-called "large revset" — and will ask you to confirm that you want to proceed by prefixing it with the all: modifier.

If you set the ui.always-allow-large-revsets option to true, jj will behave as though the all: modifier was used every time it would matter.

An all: modifier before a revset expression does not otherwise change its meaning. Strictly speaking, it is not part of the revset language. The notation is similar to the modifiers like glob: allowed before string patterms.

For example, jj rebase -r w -d xyz+ will rebase w on top of the child of xyz as long as xyz has exactly one child.

If xyz has more than one child, the all: modifier is not specified, and ui.always-allow-large-revsets is false (the default), jj rebase -r w -d xyz+ will return an error.

If ui.always-allow-large-revsets was true, the above command would act as if all: was set (see the next paragraph).

With the all: modifier, jj rebase -r w -d all:xyz+ will make w into a merge commit if xyz has more than one child. The all: modifier confirms that the user expected xyz to have more than one child.

A more useful example: if w is a merge commit, jj rebase -s w -d all:w- -d xyz will add xyz to the list of w's parents.

Examples

Show the parent(s) of the working-copy commit (like git log -1 HEAD):

jj log -r @-

Show all ancestors of the working copy (like plain git log)

jj log -r ::@

Show commits not on any remote branch:

jj log -r 'remote_branches()..'

Show commits not on origin (if you have other remotes like fork):

jj log -r 'remote_branches(remote=origin)..'

Show the initial commits in the repo (the ones Git calls "root commits"):

jj log -r 'root()+'

Show some important commits (like git --simplify-by-decoration):

jj log -r 'tags() | branches()'

Show local commits leading up to the working copy, as well as descendants of those commits:

jj log -r '(remote_branches()..@)::'

Show commits authored by "martinvonz" and containing the word "reset" in the description:

jj log -r 'author(martinvonz) & description(reset)'