Git Cheatsheet

January 7, 2025 · 4 min read

Git workflow diagram from https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/a-tutorial-for-githubpdf/263768052

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This is a Git cheatsheet that distills my years of experience.

Workspace: The directory of the repository. The working directory is independent of each branch.
Staging Area (Index): A temporary area for data, similar to a cache before writing from the working directory to the repository. The staging area is independent of each branch.
Repository: Stores all code versions that have been committed to the local repository.
Version Structure: A tree structure where each node represents a code version.

Configuration #

--global will be recorded in the ~/.gitconfig file

Automatically clean up branch references that have been deleted remotely.

git config --global fetch.prune true

Set the global user name and email.

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

Set the default text editor to vim.

git config --global core.editor vim

Common #

Basics #

git init: Initialize the current directory as a git repository, with information stored in the hidden .git folder
git clone [email protected]:xxx/xxx.git: Clone the remote repository to the current directory
- How to partially clone
git status: Check the repository status
git log: View all commits on the current branch
- git log --oneline -n: Show the last n commits in one line
git add xx: Add file xx to the staging area (works for both additions and deletions)
- git add .: Add all pending files to the staging area
git rm --cached xx: Remove file from the repository index (makes the file untracked)
git diff xx: View changes in file xx compared to the staging area
git stash: Save uncommitted changes from working directory and staging area to a stack
- git stash list: View all stashed entries
- git stash pop: Apply the top stashed changes to the current branch and remove it from the stack (pop = apply + drop)
- git stash drop: Remove the top stashed entry
git restore xx: Discard all unstaged changes in file xx (similar to revert)
git restore --staged filename: Unstage a file (restore the staging area to match HEAD)

Commit #

git commit -m "message": Commit staged content to the current branch
- feat - New feature, corresponds to semantic versioning MINOR
- fix - Bug fix, corresponds to semantic versioning PATCH
- docs - Documentation
- style - Code formatting changes that don’t affect code execution (e.g., spaces, formatting, missing semicolons)
- refactor - Code refactoring, neither adding features nor fixing bugs
- perf - Performance optimization related commits
- test - Adding or modifying test code
- build - Changes to build system or external dependencies
- ci - Changes to CI configuration files and scripts
- chore - Changes to build process or auxiliary tools
- revert - Revert a previous commit
git commit --amend: Modify the last commit message
git reset --hard/soft HEAD^: Roll back the repository to the previous version
- --hard Hard reset discards staged changes as well
- --soft Keeps staged changes (only undoes the commit)
- HEAD^ One version back
- HEAD^^ Two versions back
- HEAD~ One version back
- HEAD~100 100 versions back
- git reset --hard <commit-hash>: Roll back to a specific version (the version before the one you want to delete)

branch #

git branch: View all branches and the current branch
- git branch -a: View all branches (including remote branches)
- git branch -r: View all remote branches
- git branch -m old_name new_name: Rename a branch
- git branch -d branch_name: Delete the branch_name branch from local repository (must be merged)
- git branch -D branch_name: Force delete the branch_name branch from local repository
- git branch branch_name: Create a new branch
git checkout -b branch_name: Create and switch to the branch_name branch
git checkout branch_name: Switch to the branch_name branch
git merge branch_name: Merge branch branch_name into the current branch Note: This merge is a fast-forward merge. If conflicts occur, you need to manually open the file to resolve them. The content above belongs to the HEAD branch, and the content below belongs to the branch being merged. Delete the << == >> markers and keep whichever content you want.
```
<<<<<<< HEAD
XXX
=======
YYY
>>>>>>> dev
```
git remote set-url origin xxxxx Change remote url
- == git remote rm origin + git remote add origin [email protected]:xxx/XXX.git

push and pull #

git push -u: Push the current branch to the remote repository. The -u flag is only needed the first time.
git push origin branch_name: Push a specific local branch to the remote repository.
git push -f origin branch_name: Force push a specific local branch to the remote repository.
git push -d origin branch_name: Delete the branch_name branch from the remote repository.
git pull: Merge the current branch of the remote repository with the current branch of the local repository (git fetch origin main + git merge FETCH_HEAD).
- git pull --rebase == git fetch origin main + git rebase FETCH_HEAD
- git pull origin branch_name: Merge the branch_name branch from the remote repository with the current branch of the local repository.
git checkout -t origin/branch_name: Pull the remote branch_name branch to local and track it.
git rebase -i HEAD~n Edit commits.
- Details in How to Merge Multiple Commit to the One.

How to add commits to someone else’s pull request?

Less Common #

git fetch origin main
git log -p FETCH_HEAD Show the changes of the fetched head
git reflog: View the movement history of the HEAD pointer (including rolled-back versions), displays abbreviated commit hashes (first 7 characters of each version’s hash)

Example #

Clear all history of the Git repository, replace the main branch with a brand new commit, and then force push to the remote repository to overwrite the original content.

git checkout --orphan brandnewbranch
git add commit...
git branch -D main
git branch -m main # adjust the name of current branch
git remote set-url origin xxxxx # reassign the remote url
git push -f origin main