Gitv2.56BEGINNERGit
Git cheat sheet with commands for branching, merging, rebasing, stashing, cherry-picking, and advanced version control techniques.
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Git PDF cheat sheet
A two-page Git reference for printing or offline use.
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Setup
Install Git, verify the CLI, and set the identity used in commits.
Install Git on your platform and complete the first-time identity setup.
bash
# macOS
brew install git
# Windows
winget install --id Git.Git -e --source winget📌 Your Git identity is stored in commit metadata
💡 Use repository-level config when a project needs another identity
🔍 git config --global --list shows the active global settings
⚠️ Do not put access tokens in Git configuration values
installconfigidentityversion
Getting Started
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💡 --global applies to all your repos (~/.gitconfig)
📌 Local config overrides global settings
⚡ Set your editor for commit messages and conflicts
📌 Without init.defaultBranch, Git still uses master
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 and check out a 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
📌 --depth implies --single-branch
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
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
📌 Plain git diff skips staged changes; add --staged
Save your work to the repository history
bash
# Stage files
git add <file>
git add . # All changes in current dir
git add -A # All changes in whole repo
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
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/)
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 (exclusive..inclusive)
git revert <start>..<end>
# 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
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 (finish): returning to refs/heads/feature
# def5678 HEAD@{1}: rebase (pick): WIP fix
# 0123abc HEAD@{2}: rebase (start): checkout 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
✅ Commits dropped by reset or rebase stay recoverable 30+ days
⚡ Use HEAD@{n} or time syntax (HEAD@{2.days.ago})
🔧 Branch off the recovered commit instead of reset --hard
Merge 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
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
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
Include other Git repositories within your project
bash
# Add submodule
git submodule add <url> <path>
# Clone with submodules
git clone --recurse-submodules <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
⚡ git config submodule.recurse true makes pull and switch update them
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
📌 For bisect run: exit 0 = good, 125 = skip, 1-127 = bad
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
⚠️ A branch can be checked out in only one worktree at a time
Quick Reference
Common Git workflow for everyday development
bash
# Start your day
git pull origin main
# Create feature branch
git switch -c 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 switch 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
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
📌 Global aliases are saved under [alias] in ~/.gitconfig