How do I get the list of files about to be updated by `git pull` without knowing the branch name or what it tracks?

Question

How do I get the list of files that are about to be updated (or were just updated) by git pull so i can parse them and take appropriate action in a script?

Answer 1

A more generic solution than @obmarg's answer is this:

git fetch && git diff --name-only @ @{u}

Here @ is a shortcut for HEAD which in turn is a pointer to your currently checked out branch. @{u} or @{upstream} denotes the tracking branch for HEAD. So no hardcoded assumptions about the current branch (master), the name of the remote (origin) or the name of the tracking branch (origin/master) is necessary.

If you want to do this with another branch, use this:

git fetch && git diff --name-only master master@{u}

The syntax for @{u} is explained in git help revisions, search for upstream.

Answer 2

Assuming you know the name of the remote (in my examples, origin) then you could simply go:

git fetch && git diff --name-only ..origin

templates/shows/showBase.html
templates/shows/showList.html
templates/shows/showListEntry.htm

Or if you wanted to sort into individual commits, you could use whatchanged:

git fetch && git whatchanged --name-only ..origin

commit fcb1b56d564fe85615ecd6befcd82f6fda5699ae
Author: Grambo <email@email>
Date:   Mon Dec 12 23:36:38 2011 +0000

    Hooked "I've Seen This" button up to "Review Show" dialog

templates/shows/showBase.html
templates/shows/showList.html
templates/shows/showListEntry.htm

commit xasdasdsada......