What are the differences between double-dot ".." and triple-dot "..." in Git commit ranges?

Double-Dot (..) vs Triple-Dot (...) in Git

1. Double-Dot A..B

• Meaning: “Commits that are in B but not in A”
• Focus: Only the right-hand side branch
• Equivalent to: git log ^A B

Example:

git log main..feature

• Shows commits in feature that main doesn’t have
• Good for: “What’s new in feature compared to main?”

Visual:

main:    A---B---C
feature:     E---F
main..feature -> E, F

2. Triple-Dot A...B

• Meaning: “Commits that are in A or B but not in both” (symmetric difference)
• Focus: Differences on both sides
• Shows: Unique commits from both branches

Example:

git log main...feature

• Shows commits that are only in main or only in feature
• Good for: “What is different between main and feature?”

Visual:

main:    A---B---C
feature:     E---F
main...feature -> C, E, F

• C (in main but not in feature), E and F (in feature but not in main)

In short:

• A..B (double-dot) : Shows commits in B but not in A (what’s new in B).
• A...B (triple-dot) : Shows commits unique to A or B (differences between the two branches).

Tip:

• .. : “new in right branch”
• ... : “what’s different on both sides”