Common Git Commands

Here are some commonly used Git commands and their explanations, which can serve as a quick reference guide. Make sure to read our Git Best Practices page to understand how we use these commands at Planet Argon.

Creating Repo
Section titled “Creating Repo”

git init: This command is used to initialize a new Git repository.

git clone <url>: This command copies an existing Git repository from the specified URL.

git clone <url> <local_repo_name>: This command clones an existing Git repository and names it locally as specified.

Staging / Committing
Section titled “Staging / Committing”

git add -p (add patch): This command allows you to interactively stage parts of changes made to your tracked files.

git add -i (interactive command line tool): This command is an interactive shell for staging changes for commit.

git rm <filename>: This command deletes a file and stages the removal for commit.

git mv <old_filename> <new_filename>: This command renames or moves files, and automatically stages the changes for a commit.

git commit: This command records changes to the repository.

git commit -m "descriptive message with ticket number": This command records changes to the repository with a specific commit message.

git commit --amend: This command alters the most recent commit.

git checkout <filename>: This command discards all changes made to the named file since the last commit.

git reset <filename>: This command unstages staged changes of the named file but keeps the changes in the file.

Branching
Section titled “Branching”

git checkout <branch_name>: This command switches to the specified branch.

git checkout -b <branch_name>: This command creates a new branch and switches to it immediately.

git branch -d <branch_name>: This command deletes a merged branch.

git branch -D <branch_name>: This command forcefully deletes an unmerged branch. Use this with caution!

git branch: This command lists all local branches.

git branch -a: This command lists all branches, including local and remote.

git branch -v: This command shows the last commit on each branch.

git branch -vv: This command shows the last commit and tracks the branch for each local branch.

Remotes
Section titled “Remotes”

git remote -v: This command lists all remote repositories.

git remote add <remote_name> <remote_url>: This command adds a remote repository with the specified name and URL.

git pull: This command fetches from and integrates with another repository or a local branch.

git pull <remote_name> <branch_name>: This command fetches from a specific branch of a specific remote repository and merges it.

git pull --rebase: This command fetches the branch and then rebases it.

git push: This command updates remote references along with associated objects.

git push <remote_name> <branch_name>: This command pushes the branch to the specified remote repository.

Merging / Rebasing
Section titled “Merging / Rebasing”

git merge <branch_from> <branch_to>: This command merges the specified branches.

git merge --no-ff <branch_from> <branch_to>: This command merges only if the branches can be fast-forwarded.

git rebase <branch_from> <branch_to>: This command applies changes from one branch onto another.

git rebase --abort: This command stops the current rebase process.

git rebase --continue: This command continues the rebase process after resolving conflicts.

git rebase -i (interactive mode): This command provides an interface to alter commits during the rebase process.

Tagging
Section titled “Tagging”

git tag <tag_value>: This command creates a tag for easy reference to a certain point in the history.

Stashing
Section titled “Stashing”

git stash: This command temporarily saves changes that you don’t want to commit immediately.

git stash apply: This command re-applies previously stashed changes.

git stash pop: This command applies stashed changes and then drops them from your stack.

git stash drop: This command discards the most recently stashed changeset.

git stash list: This command lists all stashed changesets.

git stash show: This command shows the summary of a stash.

git stash show -p: This command shows the full diff of a stash.

Visibility
Section titled “Visibility”

git status: This command displays the state of the working directory and the staging area.

git diff: This command shows differences between tracked files.

git diff <SHA1> <SHA2>: This command shows differences between two snapshots of the tracked files.

git log: This command shows commit history in reverse chronological order.

git log -p <filename>: This command shows the history of the specified file.

git log --follow <filename>: This command shows the history for the specified file including any path changes.

git blame <filename>: This command shows what revision and author last modified each line of a file.

Useful Miscellany
Section titled “Useful Miscellany”

HEAD: This represents the current commit.

tilde:

HEAD~ or HEAD~1: This points to the immediate parent of the current snapshot.

HEAD~0: This points to the current snapshot.

HEAD~n: This points to the nth parent of the current snapshot.

caret:

HEAD^ or HEAD^1: This points to the first parent of the current snapshot. It’s functionally equivalent to HEAD~.

HEAD^0: This points to the current snapshot.

HEAD^2: This points to the second parent in the case of a merge, if one exists.