---
name: "git-last-modified"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "git"
version: "2.56.0-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/git-last-modified"
---

# git-last-modified(1)

EXPERIMENTAL: Show when files were last modified

## NAME

git-last-modified - EXPERIMENTAL: Show when files were last modified

## SYNOPSIS

```
git last-modified [--recursive] [--show-trees] [--max-depth=<depth>] [-z]
                  [<revision-range>] [[--] <pathspec>...]
```

## DESCRIPTION

Shows which commit last modified each of the relevant files and subdirectories. A commit renaming a path, or changing it’s mode is also taken into account.

THIS COMMAND IS EXPERIMENTAL. THE BEHAVIOR MAY CHANGE.

## OPTIONS

- **-r**, **--recursive**

  Recursively traverse into all subtrees. By default, the command only shows tree entries matching the *\<pathspec\>*. With this option, it descends into subtrees and displays all entries within them. Equivalent to **--max-depth=-1**.

- **-t**, **--show-trees**

  Show tree entries even when recursing into them.

- **--max-depth=***\<depth\>*

  For each pathspec given on the command line, traverse at most *\<depth\>* levels into subtrees. A negative value means no limit. The default is 0, which shows all paths matching the pathspec without descending into subtrees.

- **-z**

  Terminate each line with a *NUL* character rather than a newline.

*\<revision-range\>*

Only traverse commits in the specified revision range. When no *\<revision-range\>* is specified, it defaults to **HEAD** (i.e. the whole history leading to the current commit). For a complete list of ways to spell *\<revision-range\>*, see the *Specifying Ranges* section of [**gitrevisions**(7)](/gitrevisions/7.md).

\[**--**\] *\<pathspec\>*...

Show the commit that last modified each path matching *\<pathspec\>*. If no *\<pathspec\>* is given, all files and subdirectories are included. See [**gitglossary**(7)](/gitglossary/7.md) for details on pathspec syntax.

## OUTPUT

The output is in the format:

```
 <oid> TAB <path> LF
```

If a path contains any special characters, the path is C-style quoted. To avoid quoting, pass option **-z** to terminate each line with a NUL.

```
 <oid> TAB <path> NUL
```

## SEE ALSO

[**git-blame**(1)](/git-blame/1.md), [**git-log**(1)](/git-log/1.md).

## GIT

Part of the [**git**(1)](/git/1.md) suite