(Mac) -bash: __git_ps1: command not found

Question

You've installed the version of git-completion.bash from master - in git's development history this is after a commit that split out the __git_ps1 function from the completion functionality into a new file (git-prompt.sh). The commit that introduced this change, which explains the rationale, is af31a456.

I would still suggest that you just source the version of git-completion.bash (or git-prompt.sh) that is bundled with your installation of git.

However, if for some reason you still want to use this functionality by using scripts separately downloaded from master, you should download git-prompt.sh similarly:

curl -o ~/.git-prompt.sh \
    https://raw.githubusercontent.com/git/git/master/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh

... and add the following line to your ~/.bash_profile:

source ~/.git-prompt.sh

Then your PS1 variable that includes __git_ps1 '%s' should work fine.

After upgrading to OSX 10.9 Mavericks I had to reference the following files to get git shell command completion and git prompt to work again.

From my .bash_profile or similar:

if [ -f /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/share/git-core/git-completion.bash ]; then
    . /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/share/git-core/git-completion.bash
fi

source /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/share/git-core/git-prompt.sh

#shell prompt example
PS1='\u $(__git_ps1 "(%s)")\$ '

You should

$ brew install bash bash-completion git

Then source "$(brew --prefix)/etc/bash_completion" in your .bashrc.

Following worked for me like a charm:

Run following in your Terminal:

curl -L https://raw.github.com/git/git/master/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh > ~/.bash_git

Open/Create bash_profile:

$ vi ~/.bash_profile

Add following to the file:

source ~/.bash_git
export PS1='\[\033[01;32m\]os \[\033[01;34m\]\w $(__git_ps1 "[%s]")\$\[\033[00m\] '
export GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE=1
export GIT_PS1_SHOWUPSTREAM="auto"

Finally, source it using:

$ source ~/.bash_profile

This will solve the problem of bash: __git_ps1: command not found.

Also your prompt will change to "os ". To change "os" to something else, modify "os" string in export PS1 line.

Solution for MacOS Sierra and git version 2.10.1 <2017-2-06>

Step 1: Install the Git

You can skip this step if you already installed the latest git.

Download git package from browser https://git-scm.com/download/

Note: if you install with curl [option] https://... option to download, you would have to make sure your system support SSL. So for new comer, to download from browser and install directly from git installer is much easier.

Installation Verification:

• Show where is your git directory at: which git
• Show which version your git currently is: git --version current version should be 2.10.1.

Step 2: Add your git profile to your shell

1. Open your shell profile:
   • nano ~/.bash_profile or nano ~/.bashrc Depends on where your modification is.
2. Add the following code to the file:
   • source /usr/local/git/contrib/completion/git-completion.bash
   • source /usr/local/git/contrib/completion/git-prompt.sh

Note: git installation location changed from opt/ directory to usr/local/ after OSX upgrade to El Capitain, and this is why some of the old answer above doesn't work anymore in MacOS Sierra.

3. Add the following code to your PS1 configuration:

   • Option 1: add directly to your PS1: export PS1='\w$(__git_ps1 "(%s)") > '

     I prefer this simple approach since I already know the .git-completion.bash is there in my home directory, and I can add other prompt format in the front of it. here is my personal prompt for your reference: export PS1='\t H#\! \u:\w$(__git_ps1 "{%s}") -->> '

   • Option 2: Add a selection script

   if [ -f ~/.git-completion.bash ]; then
         export PS1='\w$(__git_ps1 "(%s)") > '
   fi

4. Save and use the profile: source ~/.bash_profile or source ~/.bashrc

Now you should see the git prompt working properly and shows which branch you are in right now.

High Sierra clean solution with colors !

No downloads. No brew. No Xcode

Just add it to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile

export CLICOLOR=1
[ -f /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/usr/share/git-core/git-prompt.sh ] && . /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/usr/share/git-core/git-prompt.sh
export GIT_PS1_SHOWCOLORHINTS=1
export GIT_PS1_SHOWDIRTYSTATE=1
export GIT_PS1_SHOWUPSTREAM="auto"
PROMPT_COMMAND='__git_ps1 "\h:\W \u" "\\\$ "'