"Git Commands Cheat Sheet: The Only Reference You'll Ever Need"

Git is the backbone of modern software development. This cheat sheet covers every command you'll need in daily work.

Setup & Starting a Repository

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git init                    # create a new repo
git clone <url>             # clone an existing repo

Staging & Committing

git status                  # what changed?
git add -p                  # stage interactively (hunks)
git commit -m "message"     # commit staged changes
git commit --amend          # fix the last commit message

Branching

git branch                  # list local branches
git checkout -b feature/x   # create AND switch
git switch -c feature/x     # modern create + switch
git merge feature/x         # merge into current branch
git branch -d feature/x     # delete (safe — warns if unmerged)

Undoing Things (Save This Section)

git restore <file>           # discard working changes
git restore --staged <file>  # unstage a file
git reset --soft HEAD~1      # undo last commit, keep changes staged
git stash                     # save uncommitted changes
git stash pop                 # restore stashed changes
git revert <commit>           # safe undo — creates a new commit

Remote Repositories

git remote -v                        # list remotes
git push -u origin main              # push and set upstream
git pull --rebase origin main        # fetch + rebase (cleaner history)
git push origin --delete feature/x   # delete remote branch

Log & History

git log --oneline --graph --all      # pretty history graph
git log -p <file>                    # see changes to a file
git blame <file>                     # who changed what line
git show <commit>                    # details of a specific commit

Interactive Rebase (Advanced But Essential)

git rebase -i HEAD~3                 # squash/reword last 3 commits
git rebase -i --autosquash           # auto-squash fixup commits

Quick Reference Card

Task	Command
Create branch	git checkout -b feature/x
Save work temporarily	git stash
Undo last commit	git reset --soft HEAD~1
Discard file changes	git restore file.txt
See recent work	git log --oneline -10
Sync with remote	git pull --rebase

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Originally published at AI Study Room — 70+ curated articles for developers.