Master Git: From Installation to Advanced Branch Management on Windows

What is Git?

Git is the most advanced distributed version control system in the world today.

SVN vs. Git

SVN is a centralized version control system that requires a connection to a central server for most operations, while Git is distributed, allowing each developer to work offline with a full copy of the repository.

Installing Git on Windows

Download the Windows version (msysgit) and run the default installer. After installation, you can find "Git → Git Bash" in the Start menu.

Complete the setup by configuring your username and email:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"

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

Basic Operations

Creating a repository : Navigate to a folder and run git init. This creates a hidden .git directory that stores all version information.

Adding files : git add <file> moves files to the staging area.

Committing : git commit -m "message" records the staged changes in the repository.

Checking status : git status shows modified, staged, and untracked files.

Viewing differences : git diff <file> displays line‑by‑line changes.

Viewing history : git log lists commits; git log --pretty=oneline shows a concise one‑line format.

Version Revert

To revert to a previous commit, use git reset --hard HEAD^ (one step back) or git reset --hard HEAD~100 (100 steps back). You can also reset to a specific commit hash with git reset --hard <hash>.

Working Directory vs. Staging Area

The working directory contains the files you edit. git add moves changes to the staging area, and git commit records the staged snapshot into the repository.

Undo Changes and Delete Files

To discard uncommitted changes in a file: git checkout -- <file>. To delete a file from the repository, use git rm <file> followed by a commit.

Remote Repository

Create an SSH key, add it to GitHub, then create a remote repository. Link the local repo with

git remote add origin https://github.com/youruser/yourrepo.git

and push the initial commit with git push -u origin master. Subsequent pushes use git push origin master.

Branch Creation and Merging

Create and switch to a new branch: git checkout -b dev. List branches with git branch. Merge a branch into the current one with git merge dev. Delete a branch after merging with git branch -d dev. Use git merge --no-ff -m "message" dev to force a merge commit.

Bug Branches

For urgent bug fixes, create a temporary branch (e.g., git checkout -b bug-404), fix the issue, merge back to master, and delete the bug branch.

Stash

When you need to switch context without committing, run git stash to hide current changes. List stashes with git stash list. Restore with git stash apply (keeps stash) or git stash pop (removes stash after applying).

Collaboration

Push your branch with git push origin <branch>. If the push is rejected, pull the latest changes with git pull, resolve any conflicts, commit, and push again. Set upstream tracking with

git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/<branch> <branch>

if needed.

Common Commands Summary

mkdir <dir>

– create a directory pwd – show current path git init – initialize a repository git add <file> – stage a file git commit -m "msg" – commit staged changes git status – view repository status git diff <file> – view changes git log – view commit history git reset --hard HEAD^ – revert to previous commit cat <file> – display file content git reflog – view reference log with commit hashes git checkout -- <file> – discard changes git rm <file> – delete a file git remote add origin <url> – add remote repository git push -u origin master – push initial master branch git clone <url> – clone a remote repository git checkout -b dev – create and switch to a new branch git branch – list branches git checkout master – switch to master git merge dev – merge dev into current branch git branch -d dev – delete a branch git stash – hide current work git stash list – list stashes git stash apply – apply stash without dropping git stash pop – apply and drop stash git remote – show remote info git remote -v – detailed remote info git push origin master – push master to remote