diff --git a/pkg/gui/presentation/commits.go b/pkg/gui/presentation/commits.go
index 4bad77ce9..ace3b1b3c 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/presentation/commits.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/presentation/commits.go
@@ -177,6 +177,10 @@ func GetCommitListDisplayStrings(
 					(hasRebaseUpdateRefsConfig || b.CommitHash != commits[0].Hash())
 		}))
 
+	reservedWidths := getReservedColumnWidths(
+		commits, common.UserConfig().Gui.CommitHashLength, fullDescription,
+		timeFormat, shortTimeFormat, now, bisectInfo, bisectBounds)
+
 	lines := make([][]string, 0, len(filteredCommits))
 	var bisectStatus BisectStatus
 	willBeRebased := markedBaseCommit == ""
@@ -204,11 +208,64 @@ func GetCommitListDisplayStrings(
 			fullDescription,
 			bisectStatus,
 			bisectInfo,
+			reservedWidths,
 		))
 	}
 	return lines
 }
 
+// The width of a column is the width of the widest string in it, and a column
+// whose strings are all empty is left out entirely. The panels that show a
+// commit list hand over only the lines that are on screen, so several columns
+// would change their width, or come and go, as the user scrolls. These are the
+// widths those columns need for all the commits in the list.
+type reservedColumnWidths struct {
+	hash        int
+	bisect      int
+	description int
+	action      int
+}
+
+// precondition: commits is not empty
+func getReservedColumnWidths(
+	commits []*models.Commit,
+	hashLength int,
+	fullDescription bool,
+	timeFormat string,
+	shortTimeFormat string,
+	now time.Time,
+	bisectInfo *git_commands.BisectInfo,
+	bisectBounds *bisectBounds,
+) reservedColumnWidths {
+	result := reservedColumnWidths{}
+
+	for i, commit := range commits {
+		result.hash = max(result.hash, utils.StringWidth(getHashText(commit, hashLength)))
+		if commit.IsTODO() {
+			result.action = max(result.action, utils.StringWidth(getActionText(commit)))
+		}
+		bisectStatus := getBisectStatus(i, commit.Hash(), bisectInfo, bisectBounds)
+		result.bisect = max(result.bisect,
+			utils.StringWidth(getBisectStatusText(bisectStatus, bisectInfo)))
+	}
+
+	if fullDescription {
+		// Formatting the date of every commit on every render would be too
+		// expensive, so measure the oldest one only. It is the one least likely
+		// to be from today, and so the one most likely to be shown in the long
+		// time format; with a conventional time format that one is both wider
+		// than the short format and the same width for every date, which makes
+		// it the width the whole column needs. An unconventional format can
+		// break either of those assumptions, and then some of the column's
+		// width still comes and goes; it can never reserve more width than one
+		// of the commits asks for, though.
+		result.description = utils.StringWidth(utils.UnixToDateSmart(
+			now, commits[len(commits)-1].UnixTimestamp, timeFormat, shortTimeFormat))
+	}
+
+	return result
+}
+
 func getbisectBounds(commits []*models.Commit, bisectInfo *git_commands.BisectInfo) *bisectBounds {
 	if !bisectInfo.Bisecting() {
 		return nil
@@ -376,6 +433,7 @@ func displayCommit(
 	fullDescription bool,
 	bisectStatus BisectStatus,
 	bisectInfo *git_commands.BisectInfo,
+	reservedWidths reservedColumnWidths,
 ) []string {
 	bisectString := ""
 	if bisectText := getBisectStatusText(bisectStatus, bisectInfo); bisectText != "" {
@@ -457,10 +515,10 @@ func displayCommit(
 	cols = append(
 		cols,
 		divergenceString,
-		hashString,
-		bisectString,
-		descriptionString,
-		actionString,
+		utils.WithPadding(hashString, reservedWidths.hash, utils.AlignLeft),
+		utils.WithPadding(bisectString, reservedWidths.bisect, utils.AlignLeft),
+		utils.WithPadding(descriptionString, reservedWidths.description, utils.AlignLeft),
+		utils.WithPadding(actionString, reservedWidths.action, utils.AlignLeft),
 		author,
 		graphLine+mark+tagString+theme.DefaultTextColor.Sprint(name),
 	)
diff --git a/pkg/gui/presentation/commits_test.go b/pkg/gui/presentation/commits_test.go
index 7efb5c5ae..3c3ce0044 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/presentation/commits_test.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/presentation/commits_test.go
@@ -274,16 +274,10 @@ func TestGetCommitListDisplayStrings(t *testing.T) {
 			bisectInfo:                git_commands.NewNullBisectInfo(),
 			cherryPickedCommitHashSet: set.New[string](),
 			now:                       time.Date(2020, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
-			/* EXPECTED:
 			expected: formatExpected(`
 		hash4      ○ commit4
 		hash5      ○ commit5
 				`),
-			ACTUAL: */
-			expected: formatExpected(`
-		hash4 ○ commit4
-		hash5 ○ commit5
-				`),
 		},
 		{
 			testName: "only showing TODO commits",
@@ -358,16 +352,10 @@ func TestGetCommitListDisplayStrings(t *testing.T) {
 			bisectInfo:                git_commands.NewNullBisectInfo(),
 			cherryPickedCommitHashSet: set.New[string](),
 			now:                       time.Date(2020, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
-			/* EXPECTED:
 			expected: formatExpected(`
 		      update-ref branch1
 		      update-ref branch2
 				`),
-			ACTUAL: */
-			expected: formatExpected(`
-		update-ref branch1
-		update-ref branch2
-				`),
 		},
 		{
 			testName: "graph in divergence view - all commits visible",
@@ -576,14 +564,9 @@ func TestGetCommitListDisplayStrings(t *testing.T) {
 			bisectInfo:                git_commands.NewNullBisectInfo(),
 			cherryPickedCommitHashSet: set.New[string](),
 			now:                       time.Date(2020, 1, 1, 5, 3, 4, 0, time.UTC),
-			/* EXPECTED:
 			expected: formatExpected(`
 		hash1 2:03AM     Jesse Duffield    commit1
 						`),
-			ACTUAL: */
-			expected: formatExpected(`
-		hash1 2:03AM Jesse Duffield    commit1
-						`),
 		},
 	}