Git Commands Cheat Sheet
This cheat sheet provides essential Git commands for efficient version control. Master these commands to streamline your development workflow.
Git Initialization and Cloning
git init # initiates git in the current directory
git remote add origin https://github.com/repo_name.git # add remote repository
git clone <address> # creates a git repo from given address (get the address from your git-server)
git clone <address> -b <branch_name> <path/to/directory> # clones a git repo from the address into the given directory and checkout's the given branch
git clone <address> -b <branch_name> --single-branch # Clones a single branch
Staging and Committing Changes
git add <file_name> # adds(stages) file.txt to the git
git add * # adds(stages) all new modifications, deletions, creations to the git
git reset file.txt # Removes file.txt from the stage
git commit -m "msg" # commit changes with a msg
git commit -m "title" -m "description" # commit changes with a title and description
git commit --amend # combine staged changes with the previous commit, or edit the previous commit message without changing its snapshot
git commit --amend --no-edit # amends a commit without changing its commit message
git commit --amend --author='Author Name <email@address.com>' # Amend the author of a commit
Branching and Merging
git branch # shows all the branches (current branch is shown with a star)
git branch -a # shows all the branches local and remote
git branch my-branch # creates my-branch
git branch -d my-branch # deletes my-branch
git checkout my-branch # switches to my-branch
git merge my-branch # merges my-branch to current branch
git branch -m <new-branch-name> # rename the branch
git checkout --orphan <branch_name> # checkout a branch with no commit history
git branch -vv # list all branches and their upstreams, as well as last commit on branch
git push origin --delete my-branch # delete remote branch
Remote Repository Operations
git remote # shows the remotes
git remote -v # shows the remote for pull and push
git remote add my-remote <address> # creates a remote (get the address from your git-server)
git remote rm my-remote # Remove a remote
git push my-remote my-branch # pushes the commits to the my-remote in my-branch (does not push the tags)
git fetch --tags # pulls the tags from remote
git pull my-remote my-branch # pulls and tries to merge my-branch from my-remote to the current branch git pull = git fetch && get merge
Viewing History and Diffs
git log # shows the log of commits
# git log by default uses less command so you can use these: f=next page, b=prev page, search=/<query>, n=next match, p=prev match, q=quit
git log --no-pager # shows the log of commits without less command
git log --oneline # shows the log of commits, each commit in a single line
git log --oneline --graph --decorate # shows the log of commits, each commit in a single line with graph
git log --since=<time> # shows the log of commits since given time
git log -- <file_name>
git log -p <file_name> # change over time for a specific file
git log <Branch1> ^<Branch2> # lists commit(s) in branch1 that are not in branch2
git log -n <x> # lists the last x commits
git log -n <x> --oneline # lists the last x commits, each commit in single line
git grep --heading --line-number '<string/regex>' # Find lines matching the pattern in tracked files
git log --grep='<string/regex>' # Search Commit log
git diff # show changes between commits, commit and working tree
git diff HEAD #show changes between working directory vs last commit
git diff --staged HEAD #show changes between stage area vs last commit
git diff --color # show colored diff
git diff --staged # Shows changes staged for commit
Undoing Changes and Resetting
git reset file.txt # Removes file.txt from the stage
git reset --hard # Throws away all your uncommitted changes, hard reset files to HEAD
git reset --soft <commit_id> # moves the head pointer
git reset --mixed <commit_id> # moves the head pointer and then copies the files from the commit it is now pointing to the staging area,
# the default when no argument is provided
git reset -hard <commit_id> # moves the head pointer and then copies the files from the commit it is now pointing to the staging area
# and working directory thus, throw away all uncommitted changes
# git reset
# 1. Move HEAD and current branch
# 2. Reset the staging area
# 3. Reset the working area
# --soft = (1)
# --mixed = (1) & (2) (default)
# --hard = (1) & (2) & (3)
git rm file.txt # removes file.txt both from git and file system
git rm --cached file.txt # only removes file.txt both from git index
git revert <commit-id> # Undo a commit by creating a new commit
Tagging and Archiving
git tag # shows all the tags
git tag -a v1.0 -m "msg" # creates an annotated tag
git show v1.0 # shows the description of version-1.0 tag
git tag --delete v1.0 # deletes the tag in local directory
git push --delete my-remote v1.0 # deletes the tag in my-remote (be carefore to not delete a branch)
git push my-remote my-branch v1.0 # push v1.0 tag to my-remote in my-branch
git archive <branch_name> --format=zip --outpute=./<archive_name>.zip # create an archive of files from a named tree
Stashing Changes
git stash # stashes the staged and unstaged changes (git status will be clean after it)
git stash -u # stash everything including new untracked files (but not .gitignore)
git stash save "msg" # stash with a msg
git stash list # list all stashes
git stash pop # delete the recent stash and applies it
git stash pop stash@{2} # delete the {2} stash and applies it
git stash show # shows the description of stash
git stash apply # keep the stash and applies it to the git
git stash branch my-branch stash@{1} # creates a branch from your stash
git stash drop stash@{1} # deletes the {1} stash
git stash clear # clears all the stash
Rebasing and Cleaning
git rebase -i <commit_id> # Rebase commits from a commit ID
git rebase --abort # Abort a running rebase
git rebase --continue # Continue rebasing after fixing all conflicts
git clean -f # clean untracked files permanently
git clean -f -d/git clean -fd # To remove directories permanently
git clean -f -X/git clean -fX # To remove ignored files permanently
git clean -f -x/git clean -fx # To remove ignored and non-ignored files permanently
git clean -d --dry-run # shows what would be deleted
Configuration and Aliases
git config --global --list # lists the git configuration for all repos
git config --global --edit # opens an editor to edit the git config file
git config --global alias.<handle> <command> # add git aliases to speed up workflow , eg.
# if handle is st and command is status then running git st would execute git status
git config --global core.editor <editor_name> # config default editor
Advanced Commands and Notes
git cherry-pick <commit_id> # merge the specified commit
git cherry-pick <commit_id_A>^..<commit_id_B> # pick the entire range of commits where A is older than B ( the ^ is for including A as well )
git reflog # record when the tips of branches and other references were updated in the local repository.
git ls-files # show information about files in the index and the working tree
git show # shows one or more objects (blobs, trees, tags and commits).
# .gitignore
# is a file including names of stuff that you don't want to be staged or tracked.
# You usually keep your local files like database, media, etc here.
# You can find good resources online about ignoring specific files in your project files.
# .gitignore is also get ignored
.git
# is a hidden directory in repo directory including git files. It is created after "git init".
# Some useful notes:
# Better Commit messages:
# Key to Effective Debugging
# For the commit message to help in debugging effectively, ensure that it is short and use an imperative
# mood (spoken or written as if giving a command or instruction) when constructing them.
# Also use feature tense for commit messages.
# The first word in your commit message should be one of these:
# Add
# Create
# Refactor
# Fix
# Release
# Document
# Modify
# Update
# Remove
# Delete etc...
# About resetting:
# Use git revert instead of git reset in shared repositories
# git revert creates a new commit that introduces the opposite changes from the specified commit.
# Revert does not change history the original commit stays in the repository
# Difference between ~ and ^ in git:
# ^ or ^n
# no args: == ^1: the first parent commit
# n: the nth parent commit
# ~ or ~n
# no args: == ~1: the first commit back, following 1st parent
# n: number of commits back, following only 1st parent
# note: ^ and ~ can be combined
# Some tools to improve git skill by visualizing it:
# https://git-school.github.io/visualizing-git/
# https://learngitbranching.js.org/