snippetbashTip

git for-each-ref — List and optionally format references (branches, tags) in a Git repository. More information: <https

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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commandreferencesformatandcligit for-each-refoptionallylist

Problem

How to use the git for-each-ref command: List and optionally format references (branches, tags) in a Git repository. More information: <https://git-scm.com/docs/git-for-each-ref>.

Solution

git for-each-ref — List and optionally format references (branches, tags) in a Git repository. More information: <https://git-scm.com/docs/git-for-each-ref>.

List all refs (branches and tags):

git for-each-ref

List only branches:

git for-each-ref refs/heads/

List only tags:

git for-each-ref refs/tags/

Show branches merged into HEAD:

git for-each-ref --merged HEAD refs/heads/

List short names of all refs:

git for-each-ref --format "%(refname:short)"

Sort refs by committer date (most recent first):

git for-each-ref --sort -committerdate

Sort refs by committer date (oldest first):

git for-each-ref --sort committerdate

Limit output to a specified number of refs:

git for-each-ref --count {{count}}

Code Snippets

List all refs (branches and tags)

git for-each-ref

List only branches

git for-each-ref refs/heads/

List only tags

git for-each-ref refs/tags/

Show branches merged into `HEAD`

git for-each-ref --merged HEAD refs/heads/

List short names of all refs

git for-each-ref --format "%(refname:short)"

Context

tldr-pages: common/git for-each-ref

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