Essential Git Commands – Cheatsheet for Developers

Basic Commands

• Initialize a repository
  git init

• Clone a repository
  git clone <repository_url>

• Check repository status
  git status

• Add files to staging area
  git add <file>

  git add .

• Commit changes
  git commit -m "commit message"

• Add and commit changes
  git commit -am "commit message"


Branching

• List branches
  git branch

• Create a new branch
  git branch <branch_name>

• Switch to a branch
  git checkout <branch_name>

• Create and switch to a new branch
  git checkout -b <branch_name>

• Merge a branch
  git checkout <target_branch>

  git merge <branch_to_merge>


Remote Repositories

• Add a remote repository
  git remote add <remote_name> <repository_url>

• List remote repositories
  git remote -v

• Fetch changes from remote
  git fetch <remote_name>

• Pull changes from remote
  git pull <remote_name> <branch_name>

• Push changes to remote
  git push <remote_name> <branch_name>


Undoing Changes

• Undo changes in working directory
  git checkout -- <file>

• Unstage changes
  git reset HEAD <file>

• Undo last commit but keep changes
  git reset --soft HEAD~1

• Undo last commit and discard changes
  git reset --hard HEAD~1

• Revert a commit
  git revert <commit_id>


Viewing History

• Show commit history
  git log

• Show commit history with changes
  git log -p

• Show a specific commit
  git show <commit_id>

• Show changes to a file
  git log -p <file>


Stashing Changes

• Stash changes
  git stash

• List stashes
  git stash list

• Apply a stash
  git stash apply

• Apply and drop a stash
  git stash pop

• Drop a stash
  git stash drop


Tagging

• Create a tag
  git tag <tag_name>

• List tags
  git tag

• Push tags to remote
  git push <remote_name> <tag_name>


Helpful Tips

• Alias for common 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

• Configure user information
  git config --global user.name "Your Name"

  
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"


Keep this cheatsheet handy for quick reference while working with Git!