Basic Git Commands

A list of commonly used Git commands

Git Identity Setup

Command	Description
git config --global user.name "[your name]"	Configure the author name
git config --global user.email [username]@[example].com	Configure the author email address to be used with your commits
git config --list	List config settings

Creating Projects

Command	Description
git init	Initialize a local Git repository
git clone https://github.com/[username]/[repository-name].git	Create a local copy of a remote repository using HTTPS
git clone git@github.com:[username]/[repository-name].git	Create a local copy of a remote repository using SSH

Branching & Merging

Command	Description
git branch	List branches (the asterisk denotes the current branch)
git branch -a	List all branches (local and remote)
git branch [branch name]	Create a new branch
git branch -d [branch name]	Delete a branch
git push origin --delete [branchName]	Delete a remote branch
git checkout -b [branch name]	Create a new branch and switch to it
git checkout -b [branch name] origin/[branch name]	Clone a remote branch and switch to it
git checkout [branch name]	Switch to a branch
git checkout -	Switch to the branch last checked out
git checkout -- [file-name.txt]	Discard changes to a file
git stash	Stash uncommited changes in a dirty working directory
git stash list	Lists all the stored stash previously
git stash apply stash@{[stash number]}	Apply the stash changes in your current working directory
git stash clear	Remove all stashed entries

Basic Snapshotting

Command	Description
git status	Check status
git add [file-name.txt]	Add a file to the staging area
git add -A	Add all new and changed files to the staging area
git commit -m "[commit message]"	Commit changes

Managing Remotes

Command	Description
git fetch [remote]	Fetches updates of all the branches from a remote repository
git fetch [remote][branch name]	Only fetches updates of the specified branch
git fetch --all	Fetches updates of all the registered remotes and their branches
git merge [branch name]	Merge a branch into the active branch
git merge [source branch] [target branch]	Merge a branch into a target branch
git pull	Update local repository to the newest commit
git pull origin [branch name]	Pull changes from remote repository (git pull does a git fetch followed by a git merge)
git push origin [branch name]	Push a branch to your remote repository
git push origin [branch name] -f	Force push a branch to your remote repository (DANGEROUS, not recommended)
git push -u origin [branch name]	Push changes to remote repository (and remember the branch)
git push	Push changes to remote repository (remembered branch)
git push origin --delete [branch name]	Delete a remote branch
git remote add origin git@github.com:[username]/[repository-name].git	Add a remote repository
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:[username]/[repository-name].git	Set a repository's origin branch to SSH
git remote -v	List all the current remotes
git remote rm [remote-name]	Remove a remote URL from your repository
git remote rename [current-name] [new-name]	Rename an existing remote

Inspection & Comparison

Command	Description
git diff	Preview uncommited changes before merging
git diff [sourcebranch]..[targetbranch]	Preview diff from source branch to target branch
git log	View commit history
git log --pretty=oneline	View commit history with just one line summary of each commit
git log -p [filename]	View the commited changes in commit history of file
gitk --follow [filename]	View the changes history in Git repository browser

Manage commits & Commit history

Command	Description
git reset --soft HEAD~1	Undo last one commit. It resets HEAD to previous commit.
git reset --mixed HEAD~1	In addition to soft option, It will reset the index to match it.
git reset --hard HEAD~1	In addition to mixed option, It resets the working copy to match it as well (DANGEROUS, not recommended)
git rebase --i HEAD~[number-of-commits]	To squash commits, replace pick with s for the commits you want to squash
git rebase --i HEAD~[number-of-commits]	To rename commits, replace pick with r for the commits you want to rename
git rebase --abort	It resets the rebase and gets you back to where you started
git cherry-pick master	Apply the changes added by the commit at the tip of the master branch and create a new commit with this change.

Versioning & Release

Command	Description
git tag	List the available tags
git tag -l *[sub-string]*	Refine the list of tags, pass -l option with a wild card expression
git tag [tag name]	Create a new tag
git tag -d [tag name]	Delete a tag
git push [remote] [tag name]	Push tag to remote
git push [remote] --tags	Push all the tags to remote (not recommended)

Common Questions