Git v2.40BeginnerGit
Essential Git commands for version control, branching, merging, and collaboration workflows.
Getting Started
2 topics
Initial Setup
# Set user info (required for commits)
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"
# Set default branch name
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
# Check settings
git config --list💡 Use --global for system-wide settings
📌 Local config overrides global settings
Create & Clone Repositories
# Create new repository
git init
git init <directory>
# Clone existing repository
git clone <url>
git clone <url> <directory>
# Clone specific branch
git clone -b <branch> <url>💡 Clone creates a full copy with history
⚡ Use shallow clone for faster downloads
Making Changes
2 topics
Check Status & Differences
# Check status
git status
git status -s # Short format
# View changes
git diff # Unstaged changes
git diff --staged # Staged changes
git diff HEAD # All changes💡 Status shows staged, modified, and untracked files
⚡ Use -s for compact output
Stage & Commit Changes
# Stage files
git add <file>
git add . # All files
git add -p # Interactive staging
# Commit
git commit -m "message"
git commit -am "message" # Add + commit tracked files
git commit --amend # Modify last commit💡 Stage files before committing
⚠️ Amend rewrites history - don't amend pushed commits
Branching
2 topics
Branch Management
# List branches
git branch # Local
git branch -r # Remote
git branch -a # All
# Create branch
git branch <name>
git checkout -b <name> # Create and switch
# Delete branch
git branch -d <name> # Safe delete
git branch -D <name> # Force delete💡 Use descriptive branch names
⚡ checkout -b creates and switches in one step
Merging & Rebasing
# Merge branch into current
git merge <branch>
git merge --no-ff <branch> # Force merge commit
# Rebase current onto branch
git rebase <branch>
git rebase -i HEAD~3 # Interactive rebase
# Abort if conflicts
git merge --abort
git rebase --abort💡 Merge preserves history, rebase rewrites it
⚠️ Never rebase public/shared branches
Remote Repositories
1 topic
Working with Remotes
# Manage remotes
git remote -v
git remote add origin <url>
git remote remove <name>
# Fetch and pull
git fetch origin
git pull origin main
# Push changes
git push origin main
git push -u origin main # Set upstream
git push --force-with-lease # Safe force push💡 fetch downloads without merging
⚠️ Avoid --force, prefer --force-with-lease
Stashing Changes
1 topic
Save Work Temporarily
# Stash changes
git stash
git stash push -m "description"
# View stashes
git stash list
# Apply stash
git stash apply # Apply latest
git stash pop # Apply and delete
# Delete stash
git stash drop stash@{n}
git stash clear # Delete all💡 Stash is a stack - newest on top
⚡ Use stash to quickly switch branches
History & Undo
2 topics
View History
# View log
git log
git log --oneline # Compact view
git log --graph # Visual branches
git log -n 5 # Last 5 commits
git log --author="name" # By author
# Show commit details
git show <commit>💡 --oneline is great for quick overview
⚡ Combine --graph --oneline for best view
Undo Changes
# Discard working changes
git checkout -- <file>
git restore <file>
# Unstage files
git reset HEAD <file>
git restore --staged <file>
# Reset commits
git reset --soft HEAD~1 # Keep changes staged
git reset --mixed HEAD~1 # Keep changes unstaged
git reset --hard HEAD~1 # Discard everything
# Revert (safe undo)
git revert <commit>⚠️ --hard is destructive and cannot be undone
💡 Use revert for public branches instead of reset
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