Master Git: From Installation to Advanced Branch Management

Install Git

Use the package manager or compile from source. For example:

yum install git

Or compile:

yum install curl-devel expat-devel gettext-devel openssl-devel zlib-devel

wget https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/git-2.12.2.tar.gz

tar -zxvf git-2.12.2.tar.gz

cd git-2.12.2

./configure --prefix=/usr

make all doc info

sudo make install install-doc install-html install-info

git --version

Initialize Git

Set your identity so that each commit records your name and email:

git config --global user.name "wanger"

git config --global user.email [email protected]

Check configuration:

git config --list

Obtain a Repository

You can either create a repository in an existing directory or clone an existing one.

Initialize in current directory

git init

This creates a

.git

subdirectory containing all necessary metadata.

Clone a repository

git clone https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2

git clone https://github.com/libgit2/libgit2 mylibgit

Track and Commit Changes

Check the status of the working tree:

git status

Stage new files:

git add README

Commit staged changes:

git commit -m "Add README"

Or amend the previous commit:

git commit --amend

Undo Operations

Reset a file from the index:

git reset HEAD libgit2

Discard local modifications:

git checkout -- CONTRIBUTING

Remote Repositories

View configured remotes:

git remote -v

Add a new remote:

git remote add origin git@server:project.git

Fetch and pull:

git fetch origin

git pull

Push changes:

git push origin master

Delete a remote branch:

git push origin --delete server

Branch Management

Create, list, and delete branches:

git branch testing

git branch -d testing

Switch branches:

git checkout testing

Or create and switch in one step:

git checkout -b feature

Merge branches:

git merge hotfix

If conflicts occur, edit the conflicted files, resolve the markers, and commit the result.

Rebase

Reapply commits onto another base to keep a linear history:

git rebase master

Avoid rebasing branches that have already been shared with others.

Tags

List, create, and push tags:

git tag

git tag -a v1.0 -m "Release 1.0"

git push origin v1.0

Aliases

Define shortcuts for frequently used commands:

git config --global alias.co checkout

git config --global alias.br branch

git config --global alias.ci commit

git config --global alias.st status

For a complete reference, see the official Git documentation at https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Git-Basics.