Difference between ( git add -A followed by git commit ) and git commit -a?

Question

git add --all or git add -A followed by git commit -m "commit message" seem to produce a different result from git commit -am "commit message" when I thought they would produce the same final result.

Am I doing something wrong with git commit -am "commit message"?

Also is git commit -a -m "commit message" the same as git commit -am "commit message"?

Answer 1

• git add -A will add new files (as well as deleted and modified files)
  See "Difference of “git add -A” and “git add .”" for more.
• git commit -a will not add new files: it will only stage files that have been modified and deleted.

More generally, I always recommend to add first, check the status, and then commit.
I find that extra step a good opportunity to:

• check that nothing had been forgotten for the next commit
• check that no extra elements are added for the next commit (which shouldn't be part of it, being not ready)
• polish the commit message (I usually git commit -f file)

And yes, git commit -a -m "commit message" is the same as git commit -am "commit message".