Git

Distributed version control system for tracking changes in source code.

Basic Commands

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git init	Initialize repository
git clone <url>	Clone repository
git status	Show working tree status
git add <file>	Stage changes
git add .	Stage all changes
git commit -m "message"	Commit staged changes
git log	Show commit history
git diff	Show unstaged changes
git diff --staged	Show staged changes

Branching

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git branch	List branches
git branch <name>	Create new branch
git checkout <name>	Switch to branch
git checkout -b <name>	Create and switch
git branch -d <name>	Delete branch
git branch -D <name>	Force delete
git branch -m <old> <new>	Rename branch
git merge <branch>	Merge branch
git merge --no-ff <branch>	Merge without fast-forward

Remote Operations

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git remote -v	List remotes
git remote add <name> <url>	Add remote
git push -u origin main	Push and set upstream
git push	Push to upstream
git pull	Pull and merge
git pull --rebase	Pull and rebase
git fetch	Fetch changes without merging
git remote set-url origin <url>	Change remote URL

Undoing Changes

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git checkout -- <file>	Discard unstaged changes
git restore <file>	Restore file (Git 2.23+)
git reset HEAD <file>	Unstage file
git reset --soft HEAD~1	Undo last commit, keep changes
git reset --hard HEAD~1	Undo last commit, discard changes
git revert <commit>	Create new commit to undo
git clean -fd	Remove untracked files
git checkout HEAD -- <file>	Restore file to last commit

History & Log

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git log --oneline	Show compact log
git log --graph	Show branch graph
git log --all --decorate	Show all branches
git log --author="name"	Filter by author
git log --since="1 week"	Filter by time
git log <file>	Show file history
git show <commit>	Show commit details
git blame <file>	Show line-by-line blame

Stashing

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git stash	Stash changes
git stash save "message"	Stash with message
git stash list	List stashes
git stash show	Show stash contents
git stash apply	Apply stash
git stash pop	Apply and remove stash
git stash drop	Remove stash
git stash clear	Remove all stashes

Tagging

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git tag	List tags
git tag <name>	Create lightweight tag
git tag -a <name> -m "msg"	Create annotated tag
git tag -d <name>	Delete tag
git push origin <tag>	Push tag
git push --tags	Push all tags
git checkout <tag>	Checkout tag

Rebase & Interactive Rebase

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git rebase <branch>	Rebase onto branch
git rebase -i HEAD~3	Interactive rebase last 3 commits
git rebase --continue	Continue rebase
git rebase --abort	Abort rebase
git rebase --skip	Skip commit

Interactive Rebase Commands

• pick - Use commit
• reword - Edit commit message
• edit - Edit commit
• squash - Merge with previous
• fixup - Merge with previous, discard message
• drop - Remove commit

Gitignore

Common Patterns

# OS files
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

# Node modules
node_modules/
npm-debug.log
yarn-error.log

# Python
__pycache__/
*.py[cod]
*.so
.Python

# Environment variables
.env
.env.local

# IDE
.vscode/
.idea/
*.swp
*.swo

# Build
dist/
build/
*.o

Useful Aliases

git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.br branch
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.unstage 'reset HEAD --'
git config --global alias.last 'log -1 HEAD'
git config --global alias.visual '!gitk'

Searching

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git grep "pattern"	Search in working directory
git grep "pattern" HEAD~10	Search in history
git log --grep="pattern"	Search commit messages
git log --all -- "filename"	Find commits affecting file

Bisect

# Start bisect
git bisect start
git bisect bad
git bisect good <commit-hash>

# Mark commit
git bisect bad
git bisect good

# Finish
git bisect reset

Common Workflows

Feature Branch Workflow

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/new-feature

# Make changes
git add .
git commit -m "Add new feature"

# Update from main
git checkout main
git pull
git checkout feature/new-feature
git rebase main

# Merge feature
git checkout main
git merge --no-ff feature/new-feature
git push origin main

Squash Commits

# Interactive rebase last 4 commits
git rebase -i HEAD~4

# Change 'pick' to 'squash' for commits to squash
# Save and exit, edit commit message

# Force push if needed
git push --force

Resolve Merge Conflicts

# After git merge or git rebase
# Edit conflicting files
# Add and commit
git add .
git commit

# For rebase conflicts
git add .
git rebase --continue

Configuration

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git config --global user.name "Name"	Set user name
git config --global user.email "email"	Set user email
git config --global core.editor vim	Set editor
git config --global color.ui auto	Enable colors
git config --list	Show all config
git config --global alias.<name> <cmd>	Set alias

Viewing Differences

# Show diff between commits
git diff commit1 commit2

# Show diff between branches
git diff branch1 branch2

# Show diff for specific file
git diff commit1 commit2 -- path/to/file

# Show changed files
git diff --name-only HEAD~5

# Show statistics
git diff --stat HEAD~5

Submodules

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git submodule add <url>	Add submodule
git submodule update --init	Initialize submodules
git submodule update --remote	Update submodules
git clone --recursive <url>	Clone with submodules

Clean Up

# Remove untracked files
git clean -fd

# Remove untracked and ignored files
git clean -fdX

# Remove merged branches
git branch --merged | xargs git branch -d

# Prune remote tracking branches
git remote prune origin

Cherry-pick

# Cherry-pick commit
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

# Cherry-pick multiple commits
git cherry-pick <commit1> <commit2>

# Cherry-pick without committing
git cherry-pick -n <commit>

Best Practices

• Write clear, descriptive commit messages
• Use conventional commit format (feat:, fix:, etc.)
• Commit often, commit small
• Review changes before committing
• Use .gitignore to exclude files
• Never commit sensitive data
• Keep commit history clean (rebase, squash)
• Use meaningful branch names
• Delete merged feature branches
• Use pull requests for code review
• Test before merging

TIP

Use git help <command> or git <command> --help to get detailed documentation for any Git command.