Git in Action : Quick & Essential Commands

 

Git Command Cheat Sheet

Setup & Configuration

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git --version	Check Git version
git config --global user.name "Name"	Set username globally
git config --global user.email "email@example.com"	Set email globally
git config --list	List all configurations
git config --global core.editor "editor"	Set default editor
git config --global init.defaultBranch main	Set default branch name
git config --global alias.<alias-name> "<git-command>"	Create command alias

Repository Initialization

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git init	Initialize a new Git repository
git init --bare	Initialize a bare repository
git clone <repository-url>	Clone a repository
git clone --depth <depth> <repository-url>	Clone with limited history
git clone --branch <branch-name> <repository-url>	Clone a specific branch

Basic Operations

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git status	Show working tree status
git add <file>	Add file to staging area
git add .	Add all files to staging area
git add -p	Interactively add changes
git commit -m "message"	Commit staged changes
git commit -a -m "message"	Add and commit all changes
git commit --amend	Amend the last commit
git commit --amend --no-edit	Amend last commit without changing message

Viewing Changes

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git diff	Show unstaged changes
git diff --staged	Show staged changes
git diff <commit1> <commit2>	Compare two commits
git diff <branch1> <branch2>	Compare two branches
git show <commit>	Show a specific commit
git log	Show commit history
git log --oneline	Show commit history in one line format
git log --graph	Show commit history as a graph
git log -p	Show commit history with diffs
git log --stat	Show commit history with stats
git log --author="name"	Filter commits by author
git log --since="date"	Filter commits since date
git log --until="date"	Filter commits until date
git log --grep="pattern"	Filter commits by pattern
git blame <file>	Show who changed each line in a file
git reflog	Show reference logs

Undoing Changes

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git restore <file>	Discard changes in working directory
git restore --staged <file>	Unstage changes
git reset <commit>	Reset to a specific commit (keep changes)
git reset --hard <commit>	Reset to a specific commit (discard changes)
git reset --soft <commit>	Reset to a specific commit (keep staged)
git revert <commit>	Create a new commit that undoes changes
git rm <file>	Remove file from working directory and staging
git rm --cached <file>	Remove file from staging area only
git clean -n	Show what files would be removed
git clean -f	Remove untracked files
git clean -fd	Remove untracked files and directories

Branching & Merging

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git branch	List local branches
git branch -a	List all branches (local and remote)
git branch -r	List remote branches
git branch <branch-name>	Create a new branch
git branch -d <branch-name>	Delete a branch
git branch -D <branch-name>	Force delete a branch
git branch -m <new-name>	Rename current branch
git branch -m <old-name> <new-name>	Rename specific branch
git switch <branch-name>	Switch to a branch
git switch -c <branch-name>	Create and switch to a new branch
git checkout <branch-name>	Switch to a branch (older method)
git checkout -b <branch-name>	Create and switch to a new branch (older method)
git checkout -	Switch to the previous branch
git checkout <commit> <file>	Checkout file from specific commit
git merge <branch-name>	Merge a branch into current branch
git merge --no-ff <branch-name>	Merge a branch creating a merge commit
git merge --abort	Abort a merge in case of conflicts
git mergetool	Launch merge conflict resolution tool

Rebasing

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git rebase <branch-name>	Rebase current branch onto another
git rebase -i <commit>	Interactive rebase
git rebase --abort	Abort a rebase
git rebase --continue	Continue rebase after resolving conflicts
git rebase --skip	Skip current patch and continue

Stashing

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git stash	Stash changes
git stash push -m "message"	Stash changes with a message
git stash list	List stashes
git stash show <stash@{n}>	Show stash changes
git stash apply <stash@{n}>	Apply stash without removing
git stash pop <stash@{n}>	Apply stash and remove it
git stash drop <stash@{n}>	Remove a stash
git stash clear	Remove all stashes

Remote Operations

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git remote	List remotes
git remote -v	List remotes with URLs
git remote add <name> <url>	Add a new remote
git remote remove <name>	Remove a remote
git remote rename <old-name> <new-name>	Rename a remote
git remote set-url <name> <url>	Change remote URL
git fetch <remote>	Fetch from remote
git fetch --all	Fetch from all remotes
git pull <remote> <branch>	Fetch and merge from remote
git pull --rebase <remote> <branch>	Fetch and rebase from remote
git push <remote> <branch>	Push to remote
git push -f <remote> <branch>	Force push to remote
git push --set-upstream <remote> <branch>	Push and set upstream
git push <remote> --delete <branch>	Delete remote branch
git push --tags	Push tags to remote

Tagging

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git tag	List tags
git tag <tag-name>	Create a lightweight tag
git tag -a <tag-name> -m "message"	Create an annotated tag
git tag -d <tag-name>	Delete a tag
git push <remote> <tag-name>	Push a tag to remote
git push <remote> --tags	Push all tags to remote
git checkout <tag-name>	Checkout a tag

Worktrees

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git worktree list	List worktrees
git worktree add <path> <branch>	Create a new worktree
git worktree remove <path>	Remove a worktree
git worktree prune	Prune worktree information

Submodules

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git submodule add <repository-url> <path>	Add a submodule
git submodule init	Initialize submodules
git submodule update	Update submodules
git submodule update --init --recursive	Initialize and update all submodules recursively
git submodule foreach <command>	Execute command in each submodule

Advanced Operations

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git cherry-pick <commit>	Apply changes from a specific commit
git cherry-pick --continue	Continue cherry-pick after resolving conflicts
git cherry-pick --abort	Abort a cherry-pick
git rebase -i --autosquash <commit>	Interactive rebase with autosquash
git bisect start	Start binary search for issues
git bisect good <commit>	Mark commit as good
git bisect bad <commit>	Mark commit as bad
git bisect reset	Reset bisect state
git grep <pattern>	Search for pattern in tracked files
git archive --format=zip HEAD > archive.zip	Create a zip archive of the repository
git shortlog	Show commit counts by author
git shortlog -sn	Show commit counts sorted by number
git rev-parse HEAD	Get full SHA-1 of current commit
git rev-parse --short HEAD	Get short SHA-1 of current commit
git fsck	Check repository integrity
git gc	Garbage collection
git prune	Remove unreachable objects
git verify-pack -v .git/objects/pack/*.idx	Verify packed objects

Gitflow Operations

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git flow init	Initialize gitflow in repository
git flow feature start <name>	Start a new feature
git flow feature finish <name>	Finish a feature
git flow release start <version>	Start a release
git flow release finish <version>	Finish a release
git flow hotfix start <version>	Start a hotfix
git flow hotfix finish <version>	Finish a hotfix

Git Hooks

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git hook list	List available hooks
.git/hooks/pre-commit	Pre-commit hook
.git/hooks/commit-msg	Commit message hook
.git/hooks/post-commit	Post-commit hook
.git/hooks/pre-push	Pre-push hook

Troubleshooting

COMMAND	DESCRIPTION
git fsck	Check repository integrity
git gc	Garbage collection
git prune	Remove unreachable objects
git verify-pack -v .git/objects/pack/*.idx	Verify packed objects
git count-objects -v	Count objects and show size
git show-ref	List references
git reset --hard	Reset to HEAD discarding changes
git clean -fd	Remove untracked files and directories
git reflog expire --expire=now --all	Expire all reflog entries
git gc --prune=now	Garbage collection with pruning
git config --global --unset <config-name>	Unset a config value