Master Git: Essential Commands, Workflows, and Best Practices

Git Flow Diagram

Workspace

: 工作区 Index / Stage: 暂存区 Repository: 本地仓库 Remote: 远程仓库

Configure Git

# Configure global user
$ git config --global user.name "Your Name"
$ git config --global user.email "[email protected]"
# Configure aliases
$ git config --global alias.co checkout
$ git config --global alias.ss status
$ git config --global alias.cm commit
$ git config --global alias.br branch
$ git config --global alias.rg reflog
$ git config --global alias.lg "log --color --graph --pretty=format:'%Cred%h%Creset -%C(yellow)%d%Creset %s %Cgreen(%cr) %C(bold blue)<%an>%Creset' --abbrev-commit"
# Unset global configuration
$ git config --global --unset alias.xxx
$ git config --global --unset user.xxx

View Git Information

# List system configuration
$ git config --list
# Show user configuration file
$ cat ~/.gitconfig
# Show repository configuration
$ cat .git/config
# List files in the index (staging area)
$ git ls-files
# Show reflog (command history)
$ git reflog
# Show all git commands
$ git --help -a
# Show HEAD reference
$ cat .git/HEAD
# Show commit history with various options
$ git log --oneline --grep="keyword" --graph --all --author "username" --reverse -n --p --before="date" --after="date" --stat --abbrev-commit --pretty=format:"xxx"

git reflog

Shows a list of HEAD changes caused by branch switches, commits, and resets; it cannot recover changes undone by checkout or stash because those were never committed.

Git periodically cleans up reflog entries, so old entries may disappear.

git log graph symbols

Branch pointer : a branch is a pointer; creating a new branch creates a new pointer.

HEAD switch : switching to a branch moves HEAD to that branch pointer.

Commit switch : switching to a commit moves HEAD directly to that commit (detached HEAD).

Symbol explanation:

*   commit
|   branch forward
/   branch split
\   merge
|/  new branch

Common Git Commands

# Show status of working directory and staging area
$ git status
# Add files to staging area
$ git add .
# Commit staged changes
$ git commit -m "Commit message"
# Shortcut: add and commit (tracked files only)
$ git commit -am "Commit message"
# Push local branch to remote and set upstream
$ git push -u origin branchName
# Pull remote changes
$ git pull origin branchName
# Merge branches
$ git merge branchName
# List local branches
$ git branch
# List all branches (local + remote)
$ git branch -a
# Switch branches
$ git checkout branchName
# Stash changes
$ git stash
$ git stash pop
# View differences
$ git diff
$ git diff --cached
# Remote operations
$ git remote -v
$ git remote rm origin
$ git remote set-url origin <new-url>
# Tag operations
$ git tag v1.0
$ git push origin --tags
# Delete files
$ git rm filename
$ git rm --cached filename
# Reset operations
$ git reset --hard HEAD~1
$ git reset --soft HEAD~1
# Revert a commit (creates a new commit that undoes changes)
$ git revert HEAD
# Cherry-pick a commit
$ git cherry-pick <commit-id>
# Submodule commands
$ git submodule add <url> <path>
$ git submodule update --init --recursive

Branch Management Guidelines

develop : development branch, daily updates.

test : testing branch, used after feature testing.

release : pre‑release branch, for final verification before production.

master : production branch, receives code after release.

Typical workflow: developers pull from develop, finish features, merge into test, then into release, and finally into master with tags. Bug fixes on production are branched from release (or master if no release branch) and merged back after verification.

Git Hooks (Pre‑commit Example)

# Install pre‑commit package
npm install pre-commit --save-dev
# Add hook script (if not present)
node ./node_modules/pre-commit/install.js
# Configure package.json
"scripts": {
  "build": "tsc",
  "eslint": "eslint src --ext .ts",
  "eslint:fix": "eslint src --ext .ts --fix"
},
"pre-commit": ["eslint"]

To skip the hook during commit:

$ git commit --no-verify

Common Issues and Solutions

Unrelated histories : use git pull --allow-unrelated-histories or git merge --allow-unrelated-histories.

Merge conflicts : resolve files, then git add and commit, or abort with git merge --abort.

Removing accidentally pushed files : git rm --cached filename and commit.

Connecting via SSH : generate SSH key with ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "[email protected]", add public key to remote, test with ssh -T [email protected], and set remote URL to SSH.

Credential issues : store credentials with git config --global credential.helper store or update Windows Credential Manager.

Detached HEAD : occurs when checking out a specific commit; create a new branch to retain work.

Empty folder tracking : add a .gitkeep file.

Force push : use git push --force only when necessary.

References

Git Book, Pro Git (Chinese), git‑recipes, "How to Use Git Elegantly", submodule development guides, GitHub API v3 documentation.