Essential Git Commands: A Developer's Quick Reference

Git Essentials

Git is the standard version control system for software development. This guide covers the commands every developer needs to know, organized by workflow.

Setup and Configuration

# Initialize a new repository
git init

# Clone an existing repository
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

# Configure your identity
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

Staging and Committing

# Check status of working directory
git status

# Stage a file
git add filename.txt

# Stage all changes
git add .

# Unstage a file
git reset HEAD filename.txt

# Commit staged changes
git commit -m "Describe your change"

# Amend the last commit (message or files)
git commit --amend -m "Updated message"

Try It: Git Cheatsheet

Use our Git Cheatsheet for a quick reference of common Git commands.

Branching

# List all branches
git branch

# Create a new branch
git branch feature-name

# Switch to a branch
git checkout feature-name

# Create and switch in one command
git checkout -b feature-name

# Delete a branch (after merging)
git branch -d feature-name

# Force delete an unmerged branch
git branch -D feature-name

Merging and Rebasing

Merging

# Merge a branch into current branch
git merge feature-branch

# Merge with no fast-forward (preserves branch history)
git merge --no-ff feature-branch

Rebasing

# Rebase current branch onto main
git rebase main

# Interactive rebase (squash, edit, reorder commits)
git rebase -i HEAD~3

When to rebase vs. merge:

• Merge: Preserves complete history, safe for shared branches
• Rebase: Creates linear history, only for local/unshared branches

Resolving Conflicts

When Git can't automatically merge changes, you get conflicts:

# 1. See which files have conflicts
git status

# 2. Edit conflicted files
# Look for markers:
# <<<<<<< HEAD
# your changes
# =======
# their changes
# >>>>>>> feature-branch

# 3. After resolving, stage the file
git add resolved-file.txt

# 4. Complete the merge
git commit

Use our Diff Checker to compare text and find differences.

Remote Operations

# Add a remote
git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git

# Push to remote
git push origin main

# Pull from remote
git pull origin main

# Fetch without merging
git fetch origin

# See remote URLs
git remote -v

Viewing History

# Show commit log
git log

# Compact one-line log
git log --oneline

# Show log with file changes
git log --stat

# Show a specific commit
git show abc1234

# Compare two branches
git diff main..feature

Undoing Changes

# Undo changes in working directory (keep staging)
git checkout -- filename.txt

# Unstage a file (keep changes)
git reset HEAD filename.txt

# Undo last commit (keep changes staged)
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Undo last commit (keep changes unstaged)
git reset HEAD~1

# DANGER: Completely discard everything
git reset --hard HEAD~1

Stashing

# Stash current changes
git stash

# Stash with a message
git stash save "work in progress"

# List stashes
git stash list

# Apply most recent stash
git stash pop

# Apply a specific stash
git stash apply stash@{2}

# Drop a stash
git stash drop stash@{0}

Tagging

# Create a lightweight tag
git tag v1.0.0

# Create an annotated tag
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"

# List tags
git tag

# Push tags to remote
git push origin --tags

# Delete a tag
git tag -d v1.0.0

Developer Tools That Complement Git

• Git Cheatsheet: Quick reference of Git commands
• Diff Checker: Compare two texts and find differences
• Text Diff: Word-level diff comparison
• Regex Tester: Test patterns for .gitignore files
• JSON Formatter: Format JSON config files

Git Workflow Best Practices

1. Commit often: Small, focused commits are easier to review and revert
2. Write good messages: Start with a verb: "Add", "Fix", "Update", "Remove"
3. Use branches: Never commit directly to main/master
4. Pull before push: Always git pull before pushing to avoid conflicts
5. Review before committing: Use git diff to check changes before staging

Conclusion

Git is essential for every developer. Bookmark our Git Cheatsheet and use the Diff Checker when resolving merge conflicts.