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Git Commands

This document covers essential Git commands, progressing from basic to advanced usage, along with useful explanations.

Getting Started​

  • Initialize Repository

    • git init
      Start a new Git repository in the current directory.

  • Clone Repository

    • git clone <url>
      Clone a remote repository into a new directory.

Configuration​

  • Set Username

    • git config --global user.name "Your Name"

  • Set Email

    • git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

  • List Configurations

    • git config --list

Basic Snapshotting​

  • Check Status

    • git status
      Show the working directory status.

  • Track New File

    • git add <file>

  • Stage All Files

    • git add . or git add -A

  • Commit Changes

    • git commit -m "commit message"

  • Modify Last Commit

    • git commit --amend

Branching & Merging​

  • List Branches

    • git branch

  • Create New Branch

    • git branch <branchname>

  • Switch Branch

    • git checkout <branchname>
    • git switch <branchname> (modern alternative)

  • Create & Switch

    • git checkout -b <branchname>
    • git switch -c <branchname>

  • Merge Branch

    • git merge <other-branch>

  • Delete Branch

    • git branch -d <branchname>

Remote Repositories​

  • Show Remotes

    • git remote -v

  • Add Remote

    • git remote add origin <url>

  • Push to Remote

    • git push origin <branchname>

  • Push All Branches

    • git push --all origin

  • Pull From Remote

    • git pull origin <branchname>

  • Fetch Changes

    • git fetch

Stashing & Cleaning​

  • Stash Current Changes

    • git stash
    • git stash save "description"

  • List Stashes

    • git stash list

  • Apply Stash

    • git stash apply

  • Drop Stash

    • git stash drop

  • Clean Untracked Files

    • git clean -f
    • git clean -fd (include directories)

History & Inspection​

  • Show Commit Log

    • git log
    • git log --oneline --graph --all (compact, tree view)

  • Show File History

    • git log <file>

  • Show Diff

    • git diff (unstaged changes)
    • git diff --staged (staged changes)

  • Show Blame

    • git blame <file>
      Show authorship per line.

Rewriting History​

  • Interactive Rebase

    • git rebase -i HEAD~N
      (modify last N commits interactively)

  • Reset

    • git reset --soft <commit>
    • git reset --hard <commit>
      (Dangerous: Erases local changes!)

  • Revert Commit

    • git revert <commit>

Advanced Commands​

  • Cherry-Pick Commit

    • git cherry-pick <commit>

  • Squash Commits

    • During interactive rebase, mark unwanted commits as squash.

  • Bisect: Debugging

    • git bisect start
    • git bisect good
    • git bisect bad

  • Show Reflog

    • git reflog
      Show history of branch HEADs and stash.

  • Submodules

    • git submodule add <url> <path>
    • git submodule update --init --recursive

Extra Tips​

  • View Aliases

    • git config --get-regexp alias

  • List Ignored Files

    • git ls-files --others -i --exclude-standard

  • Patch Stage

    • git add -p
      Interactively stage chunks of changed files.

For more details and the latest updates, consult the official Git documentation or use git help <command>.