how to get git log from a repo. in github.com?

Question

I know one way to a git log is to do a git clone of a repo. from somewhere where there is a git repo. So if there is a large git repo. on github.com and I just want a git log of the repo. either between the last release and now or even just a raw git log is it possible without cloning the repo. ? If yes, how do I go about doing that. You can use any git repo. on github to share ways to do the same. I tried on the interwebs if there was any way to do the same but came up short.

Answer 1

You can only do so if the remote server which provide the Git repo hosting service also provides an API.

For instance, GitHub allows you to get the log of a git repo (without cloning it first), with listing the commits on a repository

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/commits

You can add several parameters to limits the commits you want, like ?sha=xxx , a SHA or branch to start listing commits from.

Answer 2

You want to use this Github api endpoint :

Compare two commits GET /repos/:owner/:repo/compare/:base...:head Both :base and :head must be branch names in :repo. To compare branches across other repositories in the same network as :repo, use the format :branch. For example:

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/compare/hubot:branchname...octocat:branchname