Gitv2.55BEGINNER

Git

Git cheat sheet with commands for branching, merging, rebasing, stashing, cherry-picking, and advanced version control techniques.

8 min read

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Getting Started

Initial Setup

Configure Git for first time use with your identity

bash

# Set user info (required for commits)
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "email@example.com"

# 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

⚡ Set your editor for commit messages and conflicts

Create & Clone Repositories

Start a new project or get an existing one

bash

# 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

📌 Init creates a new .git directory

.gitignore

Tell Git which files and directories to ignore

bash

# Create .gitignore in repo root
# Common patterns:
node_modules/
.env
.env.local
dist/
build/
*.log
.DS_Store
.vscode/
.idea/

# Stop tracking a file that's already committed
git rm --cached <file>
git rm -r --cached <directory>

💡 .gitignore only affects untracked files

⚠️ Already-tracked files keep being tracked — use git rm --cached to stop

✅ Use a global ignore for OS/editor junk (.DS_Store, .vscode/)

📌 Commit .gitignore so the whole team shares it

Making Changes

Check Status & Differences

See what has changed in your working directory

bash

# 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
git diff <branch>     # Compare with branch

💡 Status shows staged, modified, and untracked files

⚡ Use -s for compact status output

📌 Diff shows line-by-line changes

Stage & Commit Changes

Save your work to the repository history

bash

# Stage files
git add <file>
git add .              # All files
git add -A             # All including deletions
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

✅ Write clear, descriptive commit messages

⚡ Use -p for selective staging

Branching

Branch Management

Create, list, and delete branches for parallel development

bash

# List branches
git branch            # Local
git branch -r         # Remote
git branch -a         # All

# Create and switch (modern, Git 2.23+)
git switch -c <name>
git switch <branch>

# Older equivalents
git checkout -b <name>
git checkout <branch>

# Delete branch
git branch -d <branch>  # Safe (merged only)
git branch -D <branch>  # Force delete

💡 git switch is the modern verb for branches (Git 2.23+)

⚠️ -D force-deletes unmerged branches

✅ Delete branches after merging

⚡ Use descriptive prefixes (feature/, fix/, chore/)

Merging

Combine changes from one branch into another

bash

# Merge a branch into current
git merge <branch>

# Common variants
git merge --no-ff <branch>     # Always create a merge commit
git merge --ff-only <branch>   # Fail if can't fast-forward
git merge --squash <branch>    # Squash into one commit (then commit)

# Bail out of a merge in progress
git merge --abort

💡 Fast-forward keeps history linear; --no-ff records the merge explicitly

⚡ Use --squash when you want a clean single-commit history

✅ Test after merging before pushing

🔧 --abort returns to the pre-merge state

Rebasing

Replay commits on top of another base for a linear history

bash

# Rebase current branch onto another
git rebase <branch>
git rebase main

# Interactive rebase (rewrite, reorder, squash)
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# Inside the interactive editor:
# pick    = keep commit
# reword  = change message
# edit    = stop to amend
# squash  = combine with previous (keep both messages)
# fixup   = combine with previous (drop this message)
# drop    = remove commit

# During a rebase
git rebase --continue   # After resolving conflicts
git rebase --skip       # Skip the current commit
git rebase --abort      # Cancel and reset

⚠️ Never rebase commits that are already pushed to a shared branch

💡 Rebase rewrites history; merge preserves it

✅ Use rebase locally to clean up before opening a PR

🔧 If you mess up, reflog has your back

Cherry-pick

Apply specific commits from another branch onto the current one

bash

# Apply a single commit
git cherry-pick <commit>

# Apply a range (exclusive..inclusive)
git cherry-pick <start>..<end>

# Apply without committing (stage only)
git cherry-pick -n <commit>

# After resolving conflicts
git cherry-pick --continue
git cherry-pick --abort
git cherry-pick --skip

💡 Cherry-pick copies a commit; it does not move it

⚡ Great for backporting fixes to release branches

⚠️ Creates a new commit with a different SHA than the source

✅ Use -x to leave a breadcrumb back to the original commit

Working with Remotes

Remote Repositories

Connect and sync with remote repositories

bash

# Show remotes
git remote
git remote -v

# Add remote
git remote add origin <url>

# Change remote URL
git remote set-url origin <new-url>

# Remove remote
git remote remove origin

# Rename remote
git remote rename origin upstream

💡 Origin is the default remote name

⚠️ Force push can overwrite others' work

✅ Use --force-with-lease for safer force pushing

⚡ Fetch updates remote tracking branches

Stashing Changes

Save Work Temporarily

Store uncommitted changes for later without committing

bash

# Stash changes
git stash
git stash push -m "description"

# View stashes
git stash list

# Apply stash
git stash apply         # Apply latest
git stash apply stash@{n}  # Apply specific
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

✅ Pop removes stash after applying

📌 Apply keeps stash for reuse

Fixing Mistakes

Undo Changes

Revert uncommitted changes in your working directory

bash

# Discard changes to a file (modern, Git 2.23+)
git restore <file>
git restore .             # All files

# Unstage a file (keep edits)
git restore --staged <file>

# Older equivalents
git checkout -- <file>
git reset HEAD <file>

# Nuke all local changes
git reset --hard HEAD
git clean -fd             # Remove untracked files/dirs

💡 git restore is the modern verb for files (Git 2.23+)

⚠️ --hard reset and clean -fdx are destructive — no undo

✅ Always git status first to confirm what you are discarding

📌 Soft reset keeps changes for recommit

Revert Commits

Undo committed changes by creating new commits

bash

# Revert a commit (safe — creates an inverse commit)
git revert <commit>
git revert HEAD          # Revert last commit

# Revert a range
git revert <oldest>..<newest>

# Revert a merge commit (-m 1 = keep first-parent line)
git revert -m 1 <merge-commit>

# Reset to a commit (⚠️ rewrites history)
git reset --hard <commit>

💡 Revert is safe for public/shared branches

⚠️ Reset rewrites history — avoid on shared branches

✅ For lost commits, see the Reflog item below

📌 For applying specific commits, see Cherry-pick under Branching

Recover with Reflog

Find and recover commits that look "lost" after rewrites

bash

# Show the reflog (HEAD movement history)
git reflog
git reflog --all          # All refs, not just HEAD

# Entries look like:
# abc1234 HEAD@{0}: rebase finished
# def5678 HEAD@{1}: commit: WIP fix
# 0123abc HEAD@{2}: checkout: moving to main

# Recover by SHA or HEAD@{n}
git reset --hard HEAD@{1}
git reset --hard <sha>

# Safer: branch off the recovered commit
git switch -c recovery HEAD@{1}

💡 Reflog records every HEAD movement — your safety net for rewrites

✅ Almost nothing is truly lost for ~90 days

⚡ Use HEAD@{n} or time syntax (HEAD@{2.days.ago})

🔧 Branch off the recovered commit instead of reset --hard

Merge Conflicts

Resolve Conflicts

Handle and fix merge conflicts when combining branches

bash

# During merge conflict
git status              # See conflicted files

# Resolve conflicts manually, then:
git add <resolved-file>
git commit             # Complete merge

# Abort merge
git merge --abort

# Use specific version
git checkout --ours <file>    # Keep current branch
git checkout --theirs <file>  # Take other branch

💡 Conflicts show both versions in the file

✅ Always test after resolving conflicts

🔧 Use a merge tool for complex conflicts

⚡ --ours/--theirs for quick resolution

Viewing History

Log & History

Explore repository history and find specific commits

bash

# View log
git log
git log --oneline
git log --graph --all
git log -n 5           # Last 5 commits

# Search commits
git log --grep="keyword"
git log --author="name"
git log --since="2 weeks ago"

# File history
git log -- <file>
git log -p <file>      # With changes
git blame <file>       # Line-by-line authorship

💡 Use --graph for visual branch history

⚡ Combine flags for powerful searches

📌 Blame shows who changed each line

✅ Use shortlog for contribution summary

Tags & Releases

Version Tagging

Mark specific commits as releases or milestones

bash

# List tags
git tag
git tag -l "v1.*"     # Pattern matching

# Create tag
git tag v1.0.0
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Version 1.0.0"  # Annotated

# Tag specific commit
git tag v1.0.0 <commit>

# Push tags
git push origin v1.0.0
git push origin --tags

# Delete tag
git tag -d v1.0.0
git push origin --delete v1.0.0

💡 Use annotated tags for releases

✅ Follow semantic versioning (v1.2.3)

📌 Tags don't push by default

⚡ Lightweight tags for temporary marks

Advanced Techniques

Submodules

Include other Git repositories within your project

bash

# Add submodule
git submodule add <url> <path>

# Clone with submodules
git clone --recursive <url>

# Update submodules
git submodule update --init
git submodule update --remote

💡 Submodules link to specific commits

⚠️ Remember to update submodules after pull

📌 Each submodule is a separate repository

Bisect (Find Bugs)

Binary search through history to find the commit that introduced a bug

bash

# Start bisect
git bisect start
git bisect bad          # Current commit is bad
git bisect good <commit>  # Known good commit

# Test each commit
git bisect good         # Mark as good
git bisect bad          # Mark as bad

# Finish
git bisect reset

💡 Finds bugs using binary search

⚡ Automate with test scripts

✅ Efficiently narrows down problem commits

Worktrees

Work on multiple branches simultaneously in different directories

bash

# Add worktree
git worktree add <path> <branch>
git worktree add ../feature-branch feature

# List worktrees
git worktree list

# Remove worktree
git worktree remove <path>

💡 Each worktree is a separate working directory

⚡ Work on multiple branches without stashing

✅ Great for testing while developing

Quick Reference

Daily Workflow

Common Git workflow for everyday development

bash

# Start your day
git pull origin main

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

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

# Push to remote
git push -u origin feature/new-feature

# Create pull request (on GitHub/GitLab)

# After PR merged
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git branch -d feature/new-feature

💡 Always pull before starting new work

✅ Use descriptive branch names

⚡ Commit often with clear messages

📌 Delete branches after merging

Useful Aliases

Set up shortcuts for common Git commands

bash

# Set up 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.last 'log -1 HEAD'
git config --global alias.unstage 'reset HEAD --'

# Advanced aliases
git config --global alias.lg "log --graph --pretty=format:'%Cred%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %Cgreen(%cr) %C(bold blue)<%an>%Creset' --abbrev-commit"

💡 Aliases save time on common commands

⚡ Create aliases for your workflow

✅ Share useful aliases with your team

Git

Table of Contents

Getting Started

Initial Setup

Create & Clone Repositories

.gitignore

Making Changes

Check Status & Differences

Stage & Commit Changes

Branching

Branch Management

Merging

Rebasing

Cherry-pick

Working with Remotes

Remote Repositories

Stashing Changes

Save Work Temporarily

Fixing Mistakes

Undo Changes

Revert Commits

Recover with Reflog

Merge Conflicts

Resolve Conflicts

Viewing History

Log & History

Tags & Releases

Version Tagging

Advanced Techniques

Submodules

Bisect (Find Bugs)

Worktrees

Quick Reference

Daily Workflow

Useful Aliases