Git is the backbone of modern software development. Whether you are a solo developer or part of a 500-person engineering team, the same core commands move your code from idea to production. This cheatsheet covers every essential Git command you will reach for daily — organized by category, with real examples you can copy directly into your terminal.
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Setup & Configuration
# Set your identity (required for commits)
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"
# Set default branch name
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
# Set preferred editor
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"
# View all config
git config --list
# View a specific setting
git config user.email
Pro tip: Use --global for machine-wide settings and omit it for per-repo overrides.
Repository Initialization
# Create a new repo
git init
# Clone an existing repo
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
# Clone to a specific folder
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git my-folder
# Clone only the latest commit (shallow clone — fast!)
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/user/repo.git
Staging & Committing
# Check working tree status
git status
# Stage a specific file
git add index.js
# Stage all changes
git add .
# Stage only parts of a file (interactive)
git add -p
# Commit staged changes
git commit -m "feat: add user authentication"
# Stage and commit tracked files in one shot
git commit -am "fix: resolve null pointer in parser"
# Amend last commit (before pushing!)
git commit --amend -m "fix: correct error message"
# Create empty commit (useful for triggering CI)
git commit --allow-empty -m "chore: trigger deploy"
Writing Good Commit Messages
Follow the Conventional Commits spec:
<type>(<scope>): <description>
feat: new feature
fix: bug fix
docs: documentation only
style: formatting, no logic change
refactor: refactoring, no behavior change
test: adding tests
chore: maintenance
Branching
# List all local branches
git branch
# List all branches (local + remote)
git branch -a
# Create a new branch
git branch feature/login
# Switch to a branch
git checkout feature/login
# Create and switch in one command
git checkout -b feature/login
# Modern syntax (Git 2.23+)
git switch -c feature/login
# Rename current branch
git branch -m new-name
# Delete a merged branch
git branch -d feature/login
# Force delete (unmerged)
git branch -D feature/login
# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete feature/login
Merging & Rebasing
# Merge a branch into current
git merge feature/login
# Merge without fast-forward (preserves history)
git merge --no-ff feature/login
# Rebase current branch onto main
git rebase main
# Interactive rebase (edit last 3 commits)
git rebase -i HEAD~3
# Abort a rebase in progress
git rebase --abort
# Continue after resolving conflicts
git rebase --continue
# Cherry-pick a specific commit
git cherry-pick a1b2c3d4
Merge vs. Rebase: Use merge for feature branches to preserve history. Use rebase for a clean, linear commit history on long-running branches.
Remote Operations
# List remotes
git remote -v
# Add a remote
git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git
# Fetch updates (no merge)
git fetch origin
# Pull (fetch + merge)
git pull origin main
# Pull with rebase (cleaner history)
git pull --rebase origin main
# Push to remote
git push origin feature/login
# Push and set upstream
git push -u origin feature/login
# Force push (use carefully!)
git push --force-with-lease origin feature/login
Always use --force-with-lease instead of -f. It protects you from overwriting others' pushes.
Stashing
# Save current changes to stash
git stash
# Stash with a description
git stash push -m "wip: half-done login form"
# List all stashes
git stash list
# Apply the most recent stash
git stash pop
# Apply a specific stash
git stash apply stash@{2}
# Delete a stash
git stash drop stash@{0}
# Clear all stashes
git stash clear
# Stash including untracked files
git stash -u
Viewing History
# View commit log
git log
# Compact one-line log
git log --oneline
# Log with branch graph
git log --oneline --graph --all
# Show changes in a commit
git show a1b2c3d4
# Show who changed each line
git blame src/auth.js
# Search commits by message
git log --grep="authentication"
# Search commits by code change
git log -S "function login"
# Show commits between dates
git log --after="2026-01-01" --before="2026-03-01"
Undoing Changes
# Discard changes in working directory
git restore index.js
# Unstage a file (keep changes)
git restore --staged index.js
# Revert a commit (creates new commit)
git revert a1b2c3d4
# Reset to a previous commit (keep changes staged)
git reset --soft HEAD~1
# Reset to a previous commit (keep changes unstaged)
git reset --mixed HEAD~1
# Reset and DISCARD all changes (dangerous!)
git reset --hard HEAD~1
# Recover a deleted branch or commit
git reflog
git checkout -b recovered HEAD@{3}
Rule of thumb: revert for shared branches, reset for local-only changes.
Tags
# List tags
git tag
# Create a lightweight tag
git tag v1.0.0
# Create an annotated tag
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"
# Tag a specific commit
git tag -a v1.0.0 a1b2c3d4 -m "Release"
# Push tags to remote
git push origin --tags
# Delete a local tag
git tag -d v1.0.0
# Delete a remote tag
git push origin --delete v1.0.0
Searching & Filtering
# Search working directory for a string
git grep "TODO"
# Search with line numbers
git grep -n "function render"
# Find commits that introduced a bug (binary search)
git bisect start
git bisect bad # current commit is broken
git bisect good v2.0.0 # last known good tag
# Git checks out middle commit — test it, then:
git bisect good # or: git bisect bad
# Repeat until the culprit commit is found
git bisect reset
Advanced Tricks
# See what changed between two branches
git diff main..feature/login
# See only filenames that changed
git diff --name-only main..feature/login
# Clean untracked files (dry run first!)
git clean -n
git clean -fd
# Store credentials temporarily
git config --global credential.helper cache
# Apply a patch file
git apply patch.diff
# Create a patch from commits
git format-patch HEAD~3
Aliases (Speed Up Your Workflow)
Add these to your ~/.gitconfig:
[alias]
st = status
co = checkout
br = branch
lg = log --oneline --graph --all
undo = reset --soft HEAD~1
unstage = restore --staged
today = log --since=midnight --oneline
Now git lg shows a beautiful branch graph in one line.
Most Common Workflows
Start a Feature
git checkout main && git pull
git checkout -b feature/my-feature
# ... do work ...
git add . && git commit -m "feat: implement feature"
git push -u origin feature/my-feature
Fix a Bug on Production
git checkout main && git pull
git checkout -b hotfix/critical-bug
# ... fix ...
git commit -am "fix: resolve payment crash"
git checkout main && git merge --no-ff hotfix/critical-bug
git tag -a v1.2.1 -m "Hotfix release"
git push && git push --tags
Recover a Deleted Branch
git reflog
# Find the SHA of the last commit on the deleted branch
git checkout -b recovered-branch a1b2c3d4
Quick Reference Card
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
git status |
Show working tree status |
git add . |
Stage all changes |
git commit -m "msg" |
Commit with message |
git push |
Push to remote |
git pull |
Fetch + merge |
git checkout -b branch |
Create + switch branch |
git merge branch |
Merge branch into current |
git stash |
Save uncommitted changes |
git log --oneline |
Compact history |
git reset --soft HEAD~1 |
Undo last commit, keep changes |
git revert HEAD |
Safely undo a commit |
git reflog |
See all recent HEAD positions |
Git mastery comes from repetition. Run these commands, break things in a test repo, and recover from them. The confidence you build is worth it.
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