[kec]

The git diff and log commands are primarily intended for human consumption. I'm not the one you were relying to, but I think it makes sense that git defaults to make that consumption easier, even if it isn't strictly "Unix". (You can also disable this behavior and get a more Unix-y interface by default via gitconfig or on a case by case basis with --no-pager).

[aidos]

For sure, and in fact, I very happy with the current behaviour. I guess the pager is a case where it doesn't matter much if it's included or not since I guess it doesn't get in the way if you pipe to something else. Does it consume extra resources?

    git log | wc

vs

    git log --no-pager | wc

I'm sure it's neither here nor there in practice. More of a hypothetical question.