Basic Git commands

Getting started

git init                     # new repository
git clone <url>              # copy a remote repository
git config --global user.name "Name"

The daily loop

git status                   # where am I?
git add file.txt             # stage a file
git add -p                   # stage hunk by hunk
git commit -m "message"      # record it
git pull                     # fetch + merge
git push                     # send it

Branches

git switch -c my-branch      # create and switch
git switch main              # change branch
git merge my-branch          # merge into the current branch
git branch -d my-branch      # delete once merged

Inspecting history

git log --oneline --graph --decorate
git diff                     # unstaged changes
git show <commit>            # details of a commit

Ignoring files (.gitignore)

node_modules/
*.log
.env
/var/cache/

A file Git already tracks is not retroactively ignored: git rm --cached file, then commit, to drop it. git check-ignore -v file explains which rule ignores (or doesn't) a given file.

Stashing changes

git stash                    # set aside the current changes
git stash push -m "message"  # with a descriptive message
git stash list               # see every stash
git stash pop                # reapply the latest one and drop it
git stash apply stash@{1}    # reapply a specific stash without dropping it

Handy for switching branches quickly without committing unfinished work — stashing sets uncommitted changes aside and gives you a clean working directory.

Tags

git tag v1.0.0                     # lightweight tag on the current commit
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Version 1.0"  # annotated tag (with message, author, date)
git push origin v1.0.0             # push a specific tag
git push origin --tags             # push every tag

Modified vs. staged files

Git tracks three states: the working directory (your files as they are), the staging area (what git add placed there), and history (what a commit recorded). git diff compares working ↔ staging; git diff --staged compares staging ↔ the last commit.