git output in Terminal weird

That GNU Less wants to use the Termcap/Terminfo database. Do you have your Terminal Preferences > Profiles > Advanced:

Declare terminal as: [ xterm-256color ]

Text encoding: [ Unicode (UTF-8) ]

Although I do not use git (and I should…), this is how my Apple Terminal is set.

You may need to pipe that git output through less -r too.

Back in the 1980s and long before graphical interfaces were common, dumb terminals (DEC VT100, DEC VT220, etc) used what are called ANSI escape sequences or ANSI control sequences to control the displays.

You’re seeing those same control sequences displayed, which means the terminal you’re using is not interpreting the sequences, and (worse) not ignoring them as it should (for sequences not understood).

Escape [ 33 m

sets the foreground text color to yellow.

Here’s an intro: https://wiki.bash-hackers.org/scripting/terminalcodes

The output is fine and not-fine because the terminal types and terminal capabilities and character encoding are set correctly in one place, and are not set correctly in the other.

Use the Terminal preferences, or set the TERM environment variable terminal type from the command line.

Change Profiles Advanced preferences in Terminal on Mac - Apple Support (that’s part of the Terminal app user manual)

Xcode is completely unrelated to this.

There are lots of manuals on this topic for the old DEC terminals at the vt100.net website, too.

An appropriate comic on git… 🧐

As an employee, I used git on projects. However, now retired, I don't have any surplus hardware in the house that can be set up as a git server and I do not want to use any remote service provider for this purpose.

VikingOSX wrote:

An appropriate comic on git… 🧐

…I don't have any surplus hardware in the house that can be set up as a git server…

https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/help/Git/git?version=7

😀🦆🦆🦆🦆

I am aware that Synology offers a git server solution, and I am running an ancient version of DSM 5 on a 2012 era DiskStation. So far, it has worked reliably, and if I were to upgrade to a new Synology box and DSM 7.x, then I would consider implementing a git solution on it.

I think I looked into git circa DSM 5 and there was some unremembered reason why I didn't set up git on it.

Will certainly bookmark the link, thanks.

What I am thinking about is a separate folder repository for each of the languages I develop in, and then store those under a parent folder on iCloud Drive. Time Machine on my Mac backs up the latter, as I do not use Time Machine on the Synology for backups there.

I have code scattered across several Macs and operating systems — so a sizable re-organization issue before I get around to check-ins at the respective repositories. D'uh.

VikingOSX:

If it is because you don't understand it, don't worry. Nobody does:

https://xkcd.com/1597/

Your environment is screwed up. The title of your window says "macports". Have you added anything like "homebrew" to the mix? Problems like this are common with those products.

If you do all your development on one computer, you can create a local repo.

Gerben Wierda wrote:

I actually found the culprit. It is the LESS environment variable. If it is set to any value, even empty, I get the mess.

That would be a git bug.