Getting permanent links to files on Github or Gitlab

Please don't simply copy line number links from Github. The URL usually contains a branch name like master which will change over time:

https://github.com/makandra/upjs/blob/master/lib/assets/javascripts/up/link.js.coffee#L76

If someone now posts an insertion or deletion to that file into master your link points to the wrong line!

A better way is to press the Y key after clicking on a line number. This will transform the URL to another URL that points to the particular commit:

https://github.com/makandra/upjs/blob/b3b1491dfa1e3e83265ef228631382868909c617/lib/assets/javascripts/up/link.js.coffee#L76

You can also use tags for a more human readable format, if they are available:

# Link to GitHub:
https://github.com/makandra/upjs/blob/v0.13.0/lib/assets/javascripts/up/link.js.coffee#L76

# Link to the raw file:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/makandra/upjs/v0.13.0/lib/assets/javascripts/up/link.js.coffee
Henning Koch About 9 years ago