Git Essentials
Essential Git commands for version control and collaboration.
Initial Setup
bash
# Configure user git config --global user.name "Your Name" git config --global user.email "your@email.com" # Initialize repository git init # Clone repository git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git custom-name
Basic Workflow
Staging and committing
bash
# Check status git status # Add files to staging git add file.txt git add . git add -A # All changes including deletions # Commit changes git commit -m "Commit message" # Add and commit in one step git commit -am "Message" # Amend last commit git commit --amend -m "New message" git commit --amend --no-edit # Keep message
Viewing changes
bash
# Show unstaged changes git diff # Show staged changes git diff --staged # Show changes in specific file git diff file.txt # Show changes between commits git diff commit1 commit2
Branching & Merging
Branch management
bash
# List branches git branch git branch -a # Include remote branches # Create branch git branch feature-name # Switch branch git checkout feature-name git switch feature-name # Modern alternative # Create and switch git checkout -b feature-name git switch -c feature-name # Delete branch git branch -d branch-name git branch -D branch-name # Force delete # Rename branch git branch -m old-name new-name
Merging
bash
# Merge branch into current git merge feature-name # Merge with no fast-forward git merge --no-ff feature-name # Abort merge git merge --abort # Show merge conflicts git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U
Remote Operations
Managing remotes
bash
# List remotes git remote -v # Add remote git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git # Change remote URL git remote set-url origin https://github.com/user/new-repo.git # Remove remote git remote remove origin
Syncing with remote
bash
# Fetch from remote git fetch origin # Pull changes (fetch + merge) git pull # Pull with rebase git pull --rebase # Push changes git push # Push new branch git push -u origin branch-name # Force push (careful!) git push --force-with-lease
History & Logs
Viewing history
bash
# Show commit history git log # One line per commit git log --oneline # With graph git log --graph --oneline --all # Last N commits git log -5 # Commits by author git log --author="Name" # Commits in date range git log --since="2 weeks ago" git log --until="2024-01-01" # File history git log -- file.txt
Searching history
bash
# Search commit messages git log --grep="bug fix" # Search code changes git log -S "function_name" # Show who changed each line git blame file.txt # Find commit that introduced bug git bisect start git bisect bad git bisect good commit-hash
Undoing Changes
Working directory
bash
# Discard changes in file git restore file.txt git checkout -- file.txt # Old way # Discard all changes git restore .
Staging area
bash
# Unstage file git restore --staged file.txt git reset HEAD file.txt # Old way # Unstage all git reset
Commits
bash
# Undo last commit (keep changes) git reset --soft HEAD~1 # Undo last commit (discard changes) git reset --hard HEAD~1 # Revert commit (create new commit) git revert commit-hash # Reset to specific commit git reset --hard commit-hash
Stashing
bash
# Stash changes
git stash
# Stash with message
git stash save "Work in progress"
# List stashes
git stash list
# Apply latest stash
git stash apply
# Apply and remove stash
git stash pop
# Apply specific stash
git stash apply stash@{2}
# Delete stash
git stash drop stash@{0}
# Clear all stashes
git stash clear
Rebasing
bash
# Rebase current branch git rebase main # Interactive rebase (last 3 commits) git rebase -i HEAD~3 # Continue after resolving conflicts git rebase --continue # Skip current commit git rebase --skip # Abort rebase git rebase --abort
Tags
bash
# List tags git tag # Create lightweight tag git tag v1.0.0 # Create annotated tag git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Version 1.0.0" # Tag specific commit git tag v1.0.0 commit-hash # Push tag git push origin v1.0.0 # Push all tags git push --tags # Delete tag git tag -d v1.0.0 git push origin --delete v1.0.0
Advanced Operations
Cherry-pick
bash
# Apply specific commit git cherry-pick commit-hash # Cherry-pick without committing git cherry-pick -n commit-hash
Submodules
bash
# Add submodule git submodule add https://github.com/user/repo.git path/ # Initialize submodules git submodule init # Update submodules git submodule update # Clone with submodules git clone --recursive https://github.com/user/repo.git
Clean
bash
# Preview files to be deleted git clean -n # Delete untracked files git clean -f # Delete untracked files and directories git clean -fd # Include ignored files git clean -fdx
Common Workflows
Feature branch workflow:
bash
git checkout -b feature/new-feature # Make changes git add . git commit -m "Add new feature" git push -u origin feature/new-feature # Create PR, then after merge: git checkout main git pull git branch -d feature/new-feature
Hotfix workflow:
bash
git checkout main git pull git checkout -b hotfix/critical-bug # Fix bug git commit -am "Fix critical bug" git push -u origin hotfix/critical-bug # After merge: git checkout main && git pull
Syncing fork:
bash
git remote add upstream https://github.com/original/repo.git git fetch upstream git checkout main git merge upstream/main git push origin main
Useful Aliases
Add to ~/.gitconfig:
ini
[alias]
st = status
co = checkout
br = branch
ci = commit
unstage = reset HEAD --
last = log -1 HEAD
visual = log --graph --oneline --all
amend = commit --amend --no-edit
Tips
- •Commit often, perfect later (interactive rebase)
- •Write meaningful commit messages
- •Use
.gitignorefor files to exclude - •Never force push to shared branches
- •Pull before starting work
- •Use feature branches, not main
- •Rebase feature branches before merging
- •Use
--force-with-leaseinstead of--force
Common Issues
Undo accidental commit:
bash
git reset --soft HEAD~1
Recover deleted branch:
bash
git reflog git checkout -b branch-name <commit-hash>
Fix wrong commit message:
bash
git commit --amend -m "Correct message"
Resolve merge conflicts:
bash
# Edit files to resolve conflicts git add resolved-files git commit # Or git merge --continue
Documentation
Official docs: https://git-scm.com/doc Pro Git book: https://git-scm.com/book Visual Git guide: https://marklodato.github.io/visual-git-guide/