Git Cheat Sheet: Every Command You Need (With Examples)

Quick Answer: git init creates a repo. git add . stages all changes. git commit -m "message" commits. git push pushes to remote. git pull pulls latest. git checkout -b feature creates a branch. git merge feature merges it back.

Setup

# Configure identity (do this first)
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

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

# Set default editor
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"   # VS Code
git config --global core.editor "nano"           # Nano

# View all settings
git config --list

# Enable color output
git config --global color.ui auto

Create and Clone

# Create new repo in current directory
git init

# Clone a remote repo
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

# Clone into specific folder
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git myproject

# Clone specific branch
git clone -b develop https://github.com/user/repo.git

# Shallow clone (faster, less disk)
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/user/repo.git

Daily Workflow

# Check status
git status

# Stage files
git add file.txt              # Single file
git add src/                  # Directory
git add .                     # Everything
git add -p                    # Interactive (pick hunks)

# Commit
git commit -m "Add user authentication"

# Add and commit tracked files in one step
git commit -am "Fix login bug"

# Push to remote
git push
git push origin main

# Pull latest (fetch + merge)
git pull

# Pull with rebase (cleaner history)
git pull --rebase

Branching

# List branches
git branch                    # Local
git branch -r                 # Remote
git branch -a                 # All

# Create and switch to new branch
git checkout -b feature/login
# Or (newer syntax):
git switch -c feature/login

# Switch to existing branch
git checkout main
git switch main

# Delete a branch
git branch -d feature/login          # Safe (only if merged)
git branch -D feature/login          # Force delete

# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete feature/login

# Rename current branch
git branch -m new-name

Merging

# Merge a branch into current branch
git checkout main
git merge feature/login

# Merge with no fast-forward (always create merge commit)
git merge --no-ff feature/login

# Abort a merge (if conflicts)
git merge --abort

# Resolve conflicts then:
git add .
git commit

Rebasing

# Rebase current branch onto main
git checkout feature
git rebase main

# Interactive rebase (squash, reorder, edit last 5 commits)
git rebase -i HEAD~5

# Abort rebase
git rebase --abort

# Continue after resolving conflicts
git rebase --continue

Interactive Rebase Commands

pick   = keep commit as-is
squash = combine with previous commit
fixup  = combine with previous (discard message)
reword = keep commit but edit message
drop   = delete commit
edit   = pause to amend commit

Stashing

# Stash current changes
git stash

# Stash with message
git stash push -m "WIP: new feature"

# List stashes
git stash list

# Apply most recent stash (keep in stash list)
git stash apply

# Apply and remove from stash list
git stash pop

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

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

# Clear all stashes
git stash clear

# Stash including untracked files
git stash -u

Viewing History

# Log
git log
git log --oneline                    # Compact
git log --oneline --graph            # With branch graph
git log --oneline -10                # Last 10 commits
git log --author="Sam"              # By author
git log --since="2 weeks ago"       # By date
git log --grep="fix"                # Search commit messages
git log -- src/auth.js              # History of specific file

# Show a specific commit
git show abc1234

# Diff
git diff                            # Unstaged changes
git diff --staged                   # Staged changes
git diff main..feature              # Between branches
git diff HEAD~3..HEAD               # Last 3 commits

# Blame (who changed each line)
git blame file.txt
git blame -L 10,20 file.txt        # Lines 10-20 only

# Search code across history
git log -S "functionName" --oneline

Undoing Things

# Unstage a file (keep changes)
git restore --staged file.txt
# Or older syntax:
git reset HEAD file.txt

# Discard changes in working directory
git restore file.txt
# Or older syntax:
git checkout -- file.txt

# Amend last commit (fix message or add files)
git commit --amend -m "New message"
git add forgotten-file.txt && git commit --amend --no-edit

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

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

# Undo last commit (discard changes completely)
git reset --hard HEAD~1    # WARNING: permanently destroys uncommitted changes

# Revert a commit (creates new commit that undoes it — safe for shared branches)
git revert abc1234

# Recover deleted branch or lost commits
git reflog
git checkout -b recovered abc1234

Remote Repositories

# View remotes
git remote -v

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

# Change remote URL
git remote set-url origin https://github.com/user/new-repo.git

# Fetch (download without merging)
git fetch origin
git fetch --all

# Push new branch to remote
git push -u origin feature/login

# Push all branches
git push --all origin

# Push tags
git push --tags

.gitignore

# Common .gitignore patterns
node_modules/
.env
*.log
dist/
build/
.DS_Store
__pycache__/
*.pyc
.vscode/
.idea/

# Stop tracking a file that's already committed
git rm --cached file.txt
echo "file.txt" >> .gitignore
git commit -m "Remove file.txt from tracking"

Cherry-Pick

# Apply a specific commit to current branch
git cherry-pick abc1234

# Cherry-pick without committing (just stage)
git cherry-pick --no-commit abc1234

# Cherry-pick a range (start commit is EXCLUDED)
git cherry-pick abc1234..def5678

Common Workflows

Feature Branch Workflow

git checkout main
git pull
git checkout -b feature/new-thing
# ... make changes ...
git add . && git commit -m "Add new thing"
git push -u origin feature/new-thing
# Create pull request on GitHub/GitLab

Fix a Mistake on Main

# Option 1: Revert (safe, creates new commit)
git revert abc1234

# Option 2: Reset (if not pushed yet)
git reset --hard HEAD~1    # WARNING: permanently destroys uncommitted changes

Squash Commits Before Merging

git checkout feature
git rebase -i main
# Change 'pick' to 'squash' for all but first commit
# Save and edit the combined message
git push --force-with-lease

Git Cheat Sheet: Every Command You Need (With Examples)

Setup

Create and Clone

Daily Workflow

Branching

Merging

Rebasing

Interactive Rebase Commands

Stashing

Viewing History

Undoing Things

Remote Repositories

Tags

.gitignore

Cherry-Pick

Common Workflows

Feature Branch Workflow

Fix a Mistake on Main

Squash Commits Before Merging

See Also