Linux: How to show current git branch in Bash prompt

The bash prompt does not show the current active git branch on the project root.

So adding a way to display the active git branch can help developers avoid the branching problems and code conflict with other developers some time.

In this post, you will get a chance to learn how you can show your active git branch on your Linux terminal on the bash prompt.

Open up your terminal and hit cd ~ to stay on the root. Open up the .bashrc file from there.

Example:

nano ~/.bashrc

Scroll to the place where you want to paste the content.

Pickup the below snippet and paste into the .bashrc file and save it.

parse_git_branch() {
     git branch 2> /dev/null | sed -e '/^[^*]/d' -e 's/* \(.*\)/ (\1)/'
}
export PS1="\u@\h \[\033[32m\]\w\[\033[33m\]\$(parse_git_branch)\[\033[00m\] $ "

Then, save the file and exit from the edit mode.

After the update, you need to restart the terminal or source, and it should start working for you.

Happy Coding!

I hope this was helpful for you, and feel free to share it with other developers around you.

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Last Updated: April 26, 2022