Git is the most widely used version control system in the world. Whether you’re working alone or collaborating with a team, knowing the right commands can save you hours of frustration and help you work more confidently.
Below is a practical collection of the most useful Git commands, organized by real-world workflows.
1. Getting Started
Creates a new Git repository in the current directory
git init
Downloads an existing repository from a remote server and creates a local copy
git clone <repository-url>
Sets your identity so every commit is correctly attributed to you
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"
2. Daily Workflow
Check the current status of your working directory
git status # shows which files are modified, staged, or untracked
git status -sb # the shorter and cleaner version
git add <file> # stage a specific file
git add . # stage all changes
# Show unstaged changes (working directory vs staging area)
git diff
# Show staged changes (staging area vs last commit)
git diff --staged
# Create a commit
git commit -m "feat: add image uploader"
3. Working with Branches
Switching Branches with
git switch is the dedicated command for switching branches (safer and clearer than the old git checkout).
# Switch to an existing branch
git switch feature-branch
# Create a new branch and switch to it in one command
git switch -c new-feature
git branch # List all local branches
4. Working with Remotes
Managing Remotes
# Show remote repositories with their fetch and push URLs
git remote -v
# List remote names only
git remote
# Remove a remote
git remote remove origin
# Add a new remote
git remote add origin <repository-url>
# Remove a remote
git remote remove <name>
# Fetch latest changes without merging
git fetch --all --prune
5. Hunting Down Bugs
If a bug has appeared and you're not sure which commit introduced it, bisect uses binary search across your commit history
# Start a binary search to find which commit introduced a bug
git bisect start
# Mark the current commit as bad (contains the bug)
git bisect bad
# Mark a known good commit (for example version v1.0)
git bisect good v1.0
# used to end a Git bisection session, clean up the bisection state
# and return your working directory to the commit you were on before you started
git bisect reset
6. Undoing Changes
Cleaning Up Untracked Files
# Dry-run: show which untracked files would be deleted (safe preview)
git clean -n
# Actually delete untracked files and directories
git clean -fd
# Discard changes in a specific file
git restore <file>
# Discard all local uncommitted changes (dangerous)
git restore .
git clean -fd
# Undo the last commit but keep the changes staged
git reset --soft HEAD~1
# Undo the last commit and unstage the changes
git reset HEAD~1
7. Temporarily Saving Work (Stash)
Always give a meaningful message with git stash push -m "...".
After a few days stash@{0}, stash@{1} become completely useless without messages.
# Temporarily save (stash) your uncommitted changes so you can work on something else
git stash
# Save your current uncommitted work (both staged + unstaged) with a clear message
# Very useful when you need to urgently switch branch or pull latest changes
git stash push -m "WIP: login form validation and dark mode toggle"
# Apply the most recent stash and remove it from the stash list
git stash pop
# List all saved stashes
git stash list
# Apply a specific stash (without removing it from the list)
git stash apply stash@{2}
# See what is inside a particular stash
git stash show -p stash@{1}
# Delete a specific stash after you're done with it
git stash drop stash@{1}
# Delete ALL stashes (use carefully)
git stash clear
8. Attaching Notes to Commits
git notes lets you attach extra information to a commit, without changing the commit itself or its hash
git notes add -m "This commit caused a regression in v2.3" <commit-hash>
git log --show-notes
9. A Clean Summary of Contributors
Instead of scrolling through a full commit log, shortlog gives you a ranked summary of who committed what, and how often a quick way to generate a contribution report without external tooling.
git shortlog
git shortlog -sn --all
git shortlog -sn --since="1 month ago"
10. Inspect Any Single Commit in Detail
# Show the full details of a specific commit (message, author, date, and the full diff of changes)
git show <commit-hash>
# Show the content of a specific file as it existed in a particular commit
git show <commit-hash>:path/to/file
Happy coding, and may your commits always be meaningful!
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