Git Cheatsheet

Keep this open while you practise. Each group links to the session that teaches it.

The picture to remember

You edit in the working folder, git add moves changes to the staging area, git commit saves them in the repository.

Set up (Session 1, Setup)

Command	What it does
git config --global user.name "Name"	your name on commits
git config --global user.email "me@x.com"	your email on commits
git config --global init.defaultBranch main	new repos start on main
git config --global --list	show your settings
git help <command> / git <command> -h	manual / short help

Start a repository (Session 2)

Command	What it does
git init	make the current folder a repository
git clone <url> [folder]	download a repository
git status / git status -s	what is changed? (long / short)
git add <file> / git add . / git add -p	stage a file / everything / piece by piece
git commit -m "message"	save the staged changes
git commit -am "message"	stage modified tracked files and commit

Look around (Session 3)

Command	What it does
git log --oneline	one line per commit
git log --oneline --graph --all	draw all branches
git log -p / --stat	with full changes / file summary
git log --author="x" / --grep="x" / --since="2 days ago"	filter history
git show <commit>	one commit in detail
git diff	unstaged changes
git diff --staged	what the next commit will contain
git diff HEAD	all changes since last commit
git diff <a> <b>	between two commits
git blame <file>	who changed each line
git ls-files	files Git tracks

HEAD = current commit · HEAD~1 = one before · HEAD~3 = three before.

Ignore files (Session 3)

.env          # one file
*.log         # by pattern
logs/         # a folder
!keep.log     # exception

Already tracked? git rm --cached <file>.

Undo (Session 4)

Situation	Command
Discard edits in a file	git restore <file>
Un-stage a file	git restore --staged <file>
Fix the last commit (message / forgotten file)	git commit --amend
Undo commit, keep changes staged	git reset --soft HEAD~1
Undo commit, keep changes unstaged	git reset HEAD~1
Undo commit and discard changes	git reset --hard HEAD~1
Safely undo a pushed commit	git revert <commit>
Find lost commits	git reflog
Delete untracked files (dry run first)	git clean -n then git clean -f
Remove / rename a tracked file	git rm <f> / git mv <old> <new>

Branches (Session 5)

Command	What it does
git branch / git branch -a	list local / all branches
git switch <name>	go to a branch
git switch -c <name>	create and go to a branch
git switch -	go back to the previous branch
git branch -m <old> <new>	rename
git branch -d <name> / -D	delete (safe / force)
git branch --merged	branches already merged (safe to delete)

Merge and conflicts (Session 6)

Command	What it does
git merge <branch>	bring <branch> into the current branch
git merge --no-ff <branch>	always create a merge commit
git merge --squash <branch>	stage all its changes as one; you commit
git merge --abort	cancel a merge in progress

Resolve a conflict: edit the file → remove <<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>> → git add <file> → git commit.

Remotes (Session 7)

Command	What it does
git remote -v	list remotes
git remote add origin <url>	link a remote
git remote set-url origin <url>	change its URL
git push -u origin <branch>	first push; sets upstream
git push / git pull	share / catch up (pull = fetch + merge)
git fetch	download only, change nothing
git push origin --delete <branch>	delete a remote branch
git fetch --prune	forget deleted remote branches
git push --force-with-lease	the safer force-push (own branches only)

Pull requests and forks (Session 8)

Step	Command / place
Branch	git switch main && git pull && git switch -c feature/x
Publish	git push -u origin feature/x
Open PR	GitHub → Compare & pull request
Update PR	commit + git push on the same branch
Clean up	git switch main && git pull && git branch -d feature/x
Fork setup	git remote add upstream <original-url>
Sync fork	git fetch upstream && git merge upstream/main

Power tools (Session 9)

Command	What it does
git stash / git stash -u	shelve changes (and untracked files)
git stash list / pop / apply / drop	manage the shelf
git rebase main	replay my branch on top of main
git rebase -i HEAD~3	tidy the last 3 commits
git rebase --continue / --abort	during a rebase conflict
git cherry-pick <commit>	copy one commit here
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "msg"	annotated tag on this commit
git push origin --tags	publish tags

Warning

Rebase, amend, reset and force-push rewrite history. Use them only on commits nobody else has.

Workflows at a glance (Sessions 10 and 11)

Workflow	Remember it as	Main branches
Centralized	everyone on main	main
Feature Branch	a branch per task	main + feature/*
GitHub Flow	feature branch + PR + deploy	main + short branches
Git Flow	versioned releases	main, develop, feature/*, release/*, hotfix/*
Forking	PRs from your own copy	upstream + your fork
Trunk-based	tiny commits, feature flags	main only

Rescue (Session 12)

Problem	First aid
Lost?	git status, git log --oneline --graph --all, git reflog
Committed on the wrong branch	git branch feature/x then git reset --hard origin/main
Detached HEAD, want to keep work	git switch -c new-branch
Bad merge, not pushed	git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD
Bad merge, pushed	git revert -m 1 <merge-commit>
Pushed a secret	rotate the secret first, then scrub history
Which commit broke it?	git bisect start, bad, good <id>, … reset
Backup before anything risky	git branch backup

Good commit message

Fix wrong total when a coupon is applied      ← imperative, ≈ 50 characters

Why it was wrong and how this fixes it. Fixes #87.