How to fix fatal: no commits to shortlog in Git

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Git shortlog returns empty output when run in non-interactive environments like scripts, CI systems, or when no revision is specified. This occurs because shortlog expects either a terminal or explicit revision argument.

What this error means

The "git shortlog no output" error occurs when git shortlog is invoked without proper context or arguments. Git shortlog is designed to summarize git log output, grouping commits by author. However, it has specific behavior that causes it to produce no output in certain scenarios. According to the official Git documentation, "if no revisions are passed on the command line and either standard input is not a terminal or there is no current branch, git shortlog will output a summary of the log read from standard input, without reference to the current repository." This means when you run git shortlog in automated environments (cron jobs, CI pipelines, pre-commit hooks) or non-interactive shells, it waits for input from stdin rather than defaulting to the repository's history. This is not technically an error in most cases, but rather unexpected behavior that results from how git shortlog determines its data source. When run interactively in a terminal with a current branch, it defaults to HEAD, but this automatic behavior doesn't apply in non-interactive contexts.

How to fix "fatal: no commits to shortlog"

1Verify the issue by checking if you can see commits

First, confirm that your repository has commits and that git log works properly:

bash

git log --oneline

If this shows commits, the repository is fine and the issue is with how shortlog is being invoked. If this also shows nothing, you may have a different issue (empty repository, detached state, etc.).

2Add explicit HEAD reference to git shortlog

The simplest fix is to explicitly tell git shortlog which revision to summarize. Use HEAD to get the entire history leading to the current commit:

bash

git shortlog HEAD

For summary format with commit counts:

bash

git shortlog -sn HEAD

For email addresses with counts:

bash

git shortlog -sne HEAD

This works in all contexts: scripts, hooks, CI systems, and interactive terminals.

3Specify a revision range for more control

If you need commits from a specific range, provide explicit start and end points:

bash

# All commits between two tags
git shortlog v1.0..v2.0

# Commits in current branch since main
git shortlog main..HEAD

# Commits in the last 30 days
git shortlog --since="30 days ago"

# All commits reachable from a specific branch
git shortlog origin/main

This is particularly useful in CI environments where you want release notes or specific branch statistics.

4Pipe git log output to git shortlog

The official alternative approach is to pipe git log output to shortlog:

bash

git log --pretty=short | git shortlog

With additional formatting options:

bash

# Summary by author with counts
git log --pretty=short | git shortlog -sn

# Include email addresses
git log --pretty=short | git shortlog -sne

This method explicitly provides the input shortlog needs, working around the terminal detection issue.

5Update scripts and CI configurations

If you have existing scripts or CI jobs failing, update them to include explicit revisions:

Before (fails in CI):

bash

#!/bin/bash
git shortlog -sn

After (works everywhere):

bash

#!/bin/bash
git shortlog -sn HEAD

For Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, or similar:

yaml

# Example GitLab CI
generate_stats:
  script:
    - git shortlog -sne HEAD > contributors.txt
    - git shortlog -sn --since="1 month ago" HEAD > monthly_stats.txt

How to fix fatal: no commits to shortlog in Git

What this error means

Typical symptoms

Common causes

How to fix "fatal: no commits to shortlog"

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