Git Cheatsheet

Getting Started

# Initialize a new Git repository
git init

# Clone an existing repository
git clone <repository-url>
git clone <repository-url> <directory-name>

# Check repository status
git status

# View commit history
git log
git log --oneline
git log --graph --oneline --all

Basic Commands

Configuration

# Set user information
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

# View configuration
git config --list
git config user.name

# Set default branch name
git config --global init.defaultBranch main

File Operations

# Add files to staging area
git add <filename>
git add .                    # Add all files
git add *.js                # Add all JavaScript files
git add -p <filename>       # Interactive add

# Remove files from staging area
git reset <filename>
git reset HEAD <filename>

# Remove files from working directory
git rm <filename>
git rm --cached <filename>  # Remove from Git but keep locally

Committing

# Create a commit
git commit -m "Commit message"
git commit -am "Commit message"  # Add and commit tracked files

# Amend last commit
git commit --amend -m "New message"
git commit --amend --no-edit     # Keep same message

# View commit details
git show <commit-hash>
git show HEAD

Branching

Creating and Switching

# List branches
git branch
git branch -a                # Show all branches (local and remote)

# Create new branch
git branch <branch-name>
git checkout -b <branch-name>  # Create and switch to new branch

# Switch between branches
git checkout <branch-name>
git switch <branch-name>       # Modern alternative

# Delete branch
git branch -d <branch-name>    # Safe delete (won't delete unmerged changes)
git branch -D <branch-name>    # Force delete

Merging

# Merge branch into current branch
git merge <branch-name>

# Merge with no-fast-forward (creates merge commit)
git merge --no-ff <branch-name>

# Abort merge if conflicts occur
git merge --abort

# View merge history
git log --merges

Rebasing

# Rebase current branch onto another branch
git rebase <base-branch>

# Interactive rebase (last n commits)
git rebase -i HEAD~n

# Abort rebase
git rebase --abort

# Continue rebase after resolving conflicts
git rebase --continue

Remote Operations

Managing Remotes

# List remote repositories
git remote -v

# Add remote repository
git remote add <name> <url>
git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git

# Remove remote
git remote remove <name>

# Rename remote
git remote rename <old-name> <new-name>

Fetching and Pulling

# Fetch updates from remote
git fetch <remote-name>
git fetch origin

# Pull changes from remote
git pull <remote-name> <branch-name>
git pull origin main

# Pull with rebase
git pull --rebase origin main

Pushing

# Push to remote
git push <remote-name> <branch-name>
git push origin main

# Push new branch to remote
git push -u origin <branch-name>

# Force push (use with caution)
git push --force origin <branch-name>
git push --force-with-lease origin <branch-name>  # Safer force push

# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete <branch-name>

Stashing

# Save changes to stash
git stash
git stash push -m "Stash message"

# List stashes
git stash list

# Apply stash
git stash apply              # Apply most recent stash
git stash apply stash@{n}    # Apply specific stash
git stash pop                # Apply and remove most recent stash

# View stash contents
git stash show
git stash show -p

# Remove stash
git stash drop stash@{n}
git stash clear              # Remove all stashes

History and Logs

Viewing History

# Basic log
git log
git log --oneline
git log --graph --oneline --all

# Filter by author
git log --author="Author Name"

# Filter by date
git log --since="2023-01-01"
git log --until="2023-12-31"

# Filter by file
git log -- <filename>

# Show changes in commits
git log -p
git log --stat

Comparing Changes

# Compare working directory with staging area
git diff

# Compare staging area with last commit
git diff --staged
git diff --cached

# Compare two commits
git diff <commit1> <commit2>

# Compare branches
git diff <branch1>..<branch2>

# Show file changes between commits
git diff <commit1> <commit2> -- <filename>

Undoing Changes

Reset

# Soft reset (keep changes in staging area)
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Mixed reset (keep changes in working directory)
git reset HEAD~1
git reset --mixed HEAD~1

# Hard reset (discard all changes)
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# Reset to specific commit
git reset --hard <commit-hash>

Revert

# Create new commit that undoes changes
git revert <commit-hash>

# Revert multiple commits
git revert <commit1>..<commit2>

# Revert without committing
git revert -n <commit-hash>

Checkout

# Discard changes in working directory
git checkout -- <filename>

# Switch to specific commit (detached HEAD)
git checkout <commit-hash>

# Return to latest commit on current branch
git checkout <branch-name>

Tags

# Create lightweight tag
git tag <tag-name>

# Create annotated tag
git tag -a <tag-name> -m "Tag message"

# List tags
git tag
git tag -l "v1.*"           # Filter tags

# Delete tag
git tag -d <tag-name>

# Push tags to remote
git push origin <tag-name>
git push origin --tags       # Push all tags

Advanced Features

Cherry-pick

# Apply specific commit to current branch
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

# Cherry-pick without committing
git cherry-pick -n <commit-hash>

# Cherry-pick multiple commits
git cherry-pick <commit1> <commit2>

Bisect

# Start bisect to find bad commit
git bisect start
git bisect bad <bad-commit>
git bisect good <good-commit>

# Mark current commit as good or bad
git bisect good
git bisect bad

# Reset bisect
git bisect reset

Submodules

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

# Initialize submodules
git submodule init
git submodule update

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

Workflows

Feature Branch Workflow

# Start new feature
git checkout -b feature/new-feature

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

# Push feature branch
git push -u origin feature/new-feature

# Create pull request (on GitHub/GitLab)
# After review and merge, clean up locally
git checkout main
git pull origin main
git branch -d feature/new-feature
git push origin --delete feature/new-feature

Hotfix Workflow

# Create hotfix branch from main
git checkout -b hotfix/urgent-fix main

# Make fix and commit
git add .
git commit -m "Fix urgent issue"

# Merge to main and develop
git checkout main
git merge hotfix/urgent-fix
git push origin main

git checkout develop
git merge hotfix/urgent-fix
git push origin develop

# Clean up
git branch -d hotfix/urgent-fix

Best Practices

Commit Messages

# Good commit message format
git commit -m "feat: add user authentication system

- Implement JWT token generation
- Add login/logout endpoints
- Include password hashing with bcrypt
- Add user validation middleware

Closes #123"

.gitignore

# Common .gitignore entries
node_modules/
.env
*.log
dist/
build/
.DS_Store
*.tmp
*.cache

Aliases

# Useful Git aliases
git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.br branch
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.unstage 'reset HEAD --'
git config --global alias.last 'log -1 HEAD'
git config --global alias.visual '!gitk'

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

# Fix detached HEAD
git checkout main

# Recover deleted branch
git reflog
git checkout -b <branch-name> <commit-hash>

# Clean untracked files
git clean -n              # Preview what will be deleted
git clean -f              # Force delete untracked files
git clean -fd             # Delete untracked files and directories

# Fix merge conflicts
git status                # See conflicted files
# Edit files to resolve conflicts
git add <resolved-files>
git commit -m "Resolve merge conflicts"