Essential Git Command Cheat Sheet for Developers

Glossary: Workspace (working directory), Index/Stage (staging area), Repository (local repository), Remote (remote repository).

1. Create a Repository

# Initialize a new Git repository in the current directory $ git init # Initialize a new repository in a specific directory $ git init [project-name] # Clone an existing repository with its full history $ git clone [url]

2. Configuration

Git configuration is stored in .gitconfig, which can be global (in the user’s home directory) or local (in the project directory).

# List current Git configuration $ git config --list # Edit the Git configuration file $ git config -e [--global] # Set user name for commits $ git config [--global] user.name "[name]" # Set user email for commits $ git config [--global] user.email "[email address]"

3. Add / Delete Files

# Add specific files to the staging area $ git add [file1] [file2] ... # Add an entire directory (including sub‑directories) to the staging area $ git add [dir] # Add all files in the current directory to the staging area $ git add . # Remove files from the working directory and stage the deletion $ git rm [file1] [file2] ... # Stop tracking a file but keep it in the working directory $ git rm --cached [file] # Rename a file and stage the rename $ git mv [file-original] [file-renamed]

4. Commit Changes

# Commit the staged changes with a message $ git commit -m [message] # Commit specific files directly $ git commit [file1] [file2] ... -m [message] # Commit all changes in the working directory $ git commit -a # Show diff information during commit $ git commit -v # Amend the previous commit (e.g., to change the message) $ git commit --amend -m [message] # Amend the previous commit and include new changes $ git commit --amend [file1] [file2] ...

5. Branch Management

# List all local branches $ git branch # List all remote branches $ git branch -r # List both local and remote branches $ git branch -a # Create a new branch (stay on current branch) $ git branch [branch-name] # Create and switch to a new branch $ git checkout -b [branch] # Create a branch pointing to a specific commit $ git branch [branch] [commit] # Create a tracking branch for a remote branch $ git branch --track [branch] [remote-branch] # Switch to an existing branch $ git checkout [branch-name] # Set upstream tracking for a branch $ git branch --set-upstream [branch] [remote-branch] # Merge a branch into the current branch $ git merge [branch] # Cherry‑pick a specific commit $ git cherry-pick [commit] # Delete a local branch $ git branch -d [branch-name] # Delete a remote branch $ git push origin --delete [branch-name] $ git branch -dr [remote/branch]

6. Tag Operations

# List all tags $ git tag # Create a tag on the current commit $ git tag [tag] # Create a tag on a specific commit $ git tag [tag] [commit] # Show tag details $ git show [tag] # Push a specific tag $ git push [remote] [tag] # Push all tags $ git push [remote] --tags # Create a branch from a tag $ git checkout -b [branch] [tag]

7. Inspect Repository

# Show changed files $ git status # Show commit history of the current branch $ git log # Show commit history with file change statistics $ git log --stat # Show history of a specific file (including renames) $ git log --follow [file] # Show diff for a specific file $ git log -p [file] # Show who modified a file and when $ git blame [file] # Show differences between staging area and working directory $ git diff # Show differences between staging area and last commit $ git diff --cached [file] # Show differences between working directory and HEAD $ git diff HEAD # Show differences between two branches $ git diff [first-branch]...[second-branch] # Show commit metadata and content changes $ git show [commit] # Show only changed file names for a commit $ git show --name-only [commit] # Show the content of a file at a specific commit $ git show [commit]:[filename] # Show recent commits on the current branch $ git reflog

8. Remote Synchronization

# Fetch all changes from a remote $ git fetch [remote] # List all configured remotes $ git remote -v # Show details of a specific remote $ git remote show [remote] # Add a new remote repository $ git remote add [shortname] [url] # Pull changes from a remote branch and merge $ git pull [remote] [branch] # Push a local branch to a remote $ git push [remote] [branch] # Force‑push the current branch $ git push [remote] --force # Push all branches $ git push [remote] --all

9. Undo Operations

# Restore a specific file from the staging area to the working directory $ git checkout [file] # Restore a file from a specific commit $ git checkout [commit] [file] # Restore all files to the state of the previous commit $ git checkout . # Reset a file in the staging area to match the last commit (working directory unchanged) $ git reset [file] # Reset both staging area and working directory to the last commit $ git reset --hard # Reset the current branch pointer to a specific commit (staging area reset, working directory unchanged) $ git reset [commit] # Reset HEAD to a specific commit and make the working directory match $ git reset --hard [commit] # Reset HEAD to a specific commit but keep working directory changes $ git reset --keep [commit] # Revert a specific commit (creates a new commit that undoes the changes) $ git revert [commit]

10. Miscellaneous

# Create a compressed archive suitable for distribution $ git archive