Simplified Git Commands Guide#

Initialize a Git Repository#

1. Navigate to the directory you want to track.
2. Run the following command:

git init

Adding Files or Directories#

• To add files or directories to the staging area, use:

git add <file_or_directory_name>

git add

Checking the Current State#

• To see the current state of your repository:

git status

git status

Committing Changes#

• To save changes to the repository:

git commit -m "Your commit message"

git commit

Branch Management#

Creating and Switching to a New Branch#

• Use the following command to create and switch to a new branch:

git switch -c my_new_branch

This is easier than using git branch followed by git switch. git branch

Switching Between Branches#

• To switch to an existing branch:

git switch branch_name

Viewing Existing Branches#

• To list all branches:

git branch

Viewing Commit Logs#

• To see commit history:

git log

git log

• Optionally, you can specify a branch name:

git log branch_name

• For a compact, graphical log, create an alias:

git config --global alias.gitmap "log --oneline --graph --all --decorate --parents"

Then use:

git gitmap

Fetching Updates from Remote Repositories#

• To download objects and refs from a remote repository without merging them into your working directory:

git fetch

git fetch

Working with Remote Repositories#

• To add a remote repository:

git remote add origin <repository_url>

• To list all remote repositories:

git remote -v

• To remove a remote repository:

git remote remove <name>

git remote add origin https://github.com/your-username/repo_name

git remote

Merging Branches#

• To merge a branch into the current branch:

git merge example_branch

Example: To merge example_branch into main,ensure you are on main and run the above command.

Creating a New Branch from an Older Commit#

• To create a new branch from a specific commit:

git switch -c new_branch_name old_commit_hash

Rebasing Branches#

• To reapply commits from main onto the current branch:

git rebase main

Example: If you’re on branch example_brach, this command brings changes from main onto example_brach. git rebase

Resetting Commits#

• To undo commits:
• Use --soft to keep changes in the staging area:

git reset --soft commit

• Use --hard to discard changes:

git reset --hard commit

git reset

Git Push#

The git push command pushes (sends) local changes to any “remote” - in our case, GitHub. For example, to push our local main branch’s commits to the remote origin’s main branch we would run:

git push origin <branch_name>

git push

Git pull#

• To pull changes from a remote repository and update your local repository:

git pull origin <branch_name>

git pull

What happens when you git clone?#

1. It creates a directory for the repository.
2. It initializes the repository and fetches its content.
3. It automatically sets up the origin remote to point to the repository URL you cloned.

Use the git clone command followed by the repository URL:

git clone <repository-url> <directory-name>

Example:

git clone https://github.com/user/repository.git

Clone a Specific Branch:

git clone --branch <branch-name> <repository-url>