DEV Community: Vlad-Raul Guran

Git Advanced Workflows & Recovery Cheat Sheet

Vlad-Raul Guran — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:21:48 +0000

Rewrite history safely, run parallel workflows, and recover almost any lost work. Targets Git 2.45+; every feature used here has been available since Git 2.38 or earlier.

Quick Reference

Task	Command
Show every HEAD move	`git reflog`
Undo last reset/rebase/merge	`git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD`
Restore a file from any commit	`git restore --source=<sha> -- path`
Unstage, keep edits	`git restore --staged path`
Fold staged changes into an old commit	`git commit --fixup=<sha>` then `git rebase -i --autosquash <base>`
Move a branch to a new base	`git rebase --onto <newbase> <oldbase> <branch>`
Compare two versions of a series	`git range-diff <base> <old-tip> <new-tip>`
Find the regression commit	`git bisect start <bad> <good>` then `git bisect run <cmd>`
Work on a second branch in parallel	`git worktree add ../hotfix -b hotfix origin/main`
Safe force-push	`git push --force-with-lease --force-if-includes`
Undo a pushed merge	`git revert -m 1 <merge-sha>`
Copy a commit, recording its origin	`git cherry-pick -x <sha>`
Find when a string appeared or vanished	`git log -S'needle' --oneline`
Show the history of a function	`git log -L :funcName:path/file.c`
Find lost commits and blobs	`git fsck --lost-found`

Core Patterns

1. Reflog: undo almost anything

Every move of HEAD and of each branch tip is logged locally. By default, unreachable entries are kept for 30 days and reachable ones for 90 days. If a command "destroyed" commits, they are almost certainly still in the reflog.

git reflog                               # HEAD history, newest first
git reflog show feature/login            # one branch's tip history
git log -g --oneline --date=relative     # reflog with relative timestamps
git reset --hard HEAD@{1}                # go back to where HEAD was before the last move
git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD               # set by reset, rebase, merge, and am
git branch rescue HEAD@{5}               # recover without touching the current branch
git switch -c rescue 'main@{2.hours.ago}'  # time-based ref syntax
# Deleted branch: `git branch -d` prints "(was abc1234)". Otherwise:
git reflog | grep -A1 'moving from feature/login'  # the 2nd (older) line is the old tip
git branch feature/login <sha>

2. Dangling objects: dropped stashes and lost staged work

A stash is a commit. A file you staged with git add is stored as a blob. Both survive git stash drop or git reset --hard until garbage collection removes them.

# Find a dropped or cleared stash (its subject looks like "WIP on <branch>" or "On <branch>")
git fsck --no-reflog | awk '/dangling commit/ {print $3}' \
  | xargs git log --no-walk --format='%h %cr %s'
git stash apply <sha>
# Find work that was staged but never committed, then lost to reset --hard
git fsck --lost-found                    # writes to .git/lost-found/{commit,other}/
git show <blob-sha> > recovered.txt
# Edits that were never staged were never stored. Git cannot recover them.

This is the free part. The full Git Advanced Workflows & Recovery Cheat Sheet (production commands, best practices, common pitfalls and a debugging checklist on 2–4 dense pages) is available as a PDF, pay what you want: https://guranova.gumroad.com/l/cilot

More sheets: https://vladguran.github.io/dev-cheatsheets/

This article was written with AI assistance.

kubectl Troubleshooting & Daily Commands Cheat Sheet

Vlad-Raul Guran — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:02:49 +0000

Production-grade triage, debugging, and recovery with kubectl, targeting kubectl / Kubernetes v1.31+.

Quick Reference

Task	Command
Wide pod status	`kubectl get pods -o wide -n <ns>`
Full object state and events	`kubectl describe pod <pod>`
Recent warnings	`kubectl events -n <ns> --types=Warning`
Logs from the crashed container	`kubectl logs <pod> -c <ctr> --previous`
Tail logs across a label	`kubectl logs -l app=web --prefix --since=15m -f`
Shell into a container	`kubectl exec -it <pod> -c <ctr> -- sh`
Ephemeral debug container	`kubectl debug -it <pod> --image=busybox:1.36 --target=<ctr>`
Node shell	`kubectl debug node/<node> -it --image=busybox:1.36`
Resource usage	`kubectl top pod -n <ns> --sort-by=memory`
Rollout progress	`kubectl rollout status deploy/<name> --timeout=5m`
Roll back	`kubectl rollout undo deploy/<name>`
Local tunnel	`kubectl port-forward svc/<svc> 8080:80`
RBAC check	`kubectl auth can-i <verb> <resource> --as=<user>`
Preview changes	`kubectl diff -f <file>.yaml`
Wait for readiness	`kubectl wait --for=condition=Ready pod -l app=web --timeout=120s`

Core Patterns

1. Triage a failing pod

Walk from coarse to fine: status, then conditions and events, then logs from the previous container instance. Most crash causes appear in describe before you read any logs.

NS=prod; POD=web-7d9f8c6b5-x2k4p
kubectl get pod $POD -n $NS -o wide          # STATUS, RESTARTS, NODE, IP
kubectl describe pod $POD -n $NS             # Conditions, State/Last State, Events
kubectl events -n $NS --for pod/$POD         # events scoped to this pod
kubectl logs $POD -n $NS --all-containers --previous --tail=200
kubectl get pod $POD -n $NS -o yaml          # full spec plus status

2. Decode why a container died

lastState.terminated holds the reason and exit code. Exit code 137 means SIGKILL, usually OOMKilled. Exit code 143 means SIGTERM. Exit code 1 means an application error.

kubectl get pod $POD -n $NS -o jsonpath='{range .status.containerStatuses[*]}{.name}{"\t"}{.restartCount}{"\t"}{.lastState.terminated.reason}{"\t"}{.lastState.terminated.exitCode}{"\n"}{end}'

# Waiting reasons: CrashLoopBackOff, ImagePullBackOff, CreateContainerConfigError
kubectl get pod $POD -n $NS -o jsonpath='{.status.containerStatuses[*].state.waiting}'

# Pods with the most restarts, cluster-wide
kubectl get pods -A --sort-by='.status.containerStatuses[0].restartCount' | tail -15

This is the free part. The full kubectl Troubleshooting & Daily Commands Cheat Sheet (production commands, best practices, common pitfalls and a debugging checklist on 2–4 dense pages) is available as a PDF, pay what you want: https://guranova.gumroad.com/l/wktiwb

More sheets: https://vladguran.github.io/dev-cheatsheets/

This article was written with AI assistance.

ADB Command Cheat Sheet: Android & Google TV Debugging, Debloating, and Device Control

Vlad-Raul Guran — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 09:48:51 +0000

Every ADB command you actually use for phones and Android/Google TV over USB or Wi-Fi. Targets Android SDK Platform-Tools 35+ (adb version → 1.0.41) with devices on Android 11–15.

Quick Reference

Task	Command
List devices with model info	`adb devices -l`
Target a specific device	`adb -s <serial> <cmd>` (or `export ANDROID_SERIAL=<serial>`)
Pair over Wi-Fi (Android 11+)	`adb pair <ip>:<pair-port>`
Connect over Wi-Fi	`adb connect <ip>:<port>`
Install or update an APK	`adb install -r -g app.apk`
Install split APKs	`adb install-multiple base.apk split_*.apk`
Uninstall an app	`adb uninstall <pkg>`
List third-party packages	`adb shell pm list packages -3`
Launch an app by package	`adb shell monkey -p <pkg> -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1`
Force-stop an app	`adb shell am force-stop <pkg>`
Clear app data	`adb shell pm clear <pkg>`
Stream errors only	`adb logcat *:E`
Take a screenshot to the host	`adb exec-out screencap -p > shot.png`
Send a remote or hardware key	`adb shell input keyevent KEYCODE_HOME`
Copy files	`adb push local /sdcard/` · `adb pull /sdcard/file .`

Core Patterns

1. Wireless Connection (Phones & Google TV)

Android 11+ uses TLS pairing through Wireless debugging. Older devices, and many TVs, use the legacy TCP mode. That mode either starts from USB, or is enabled by turning on USB/network debugging on the TV itself.

# Android 11+: Developer options > Wireless debugging > Pair device with pairing code
adb pair 192.168.1.50:37123        # pairing port + 6-digit code shown on device
adb connect 192.168.1.50:41567     # DIFFERENT port: shown on main Wireless debugging screen
adb mdns services                  # discover advertised devices on the LAN

# Legacy (any version): start on USB, then switch to TCP
adb -s <usb-serial> tcpip 5555
adb connect 192.168.1.50:5555

# Google TV / Android TV: Settings > System > About > tap "Android TV OS build" 7x,
# enable USB debugging in Developer options, then:
adb connect 192.168.1.60:5555      # accept the RSA prompt on the TV screen
adb disconnect 192.168.1.60:5555

2. App Lifecycle: Install, Launch, Measure, Reset

Script the full cycle so every QA run starts from a known state.

adb install -r -g -t app-debug.apk               # replace, grant runtime perms, allow test APKs
adb shell pm path com.example.app                # where the APK lives
adb shell dumpsys package com.example.app | grep -E 'versionName|versionCode'
adb shell cmd package resolve-activity --brief com.example.app   # find launcher activity
adb shell am start -S -W -n com.example.app/.MainActivity        # cold start + timing
adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d "myapp://item/42"   # deep link
adb shell am force-stop com.example.app
adb shell pm clear com.example.app               # wipe data + revoke perms
adb shell pm grant com.example.app android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS
adb shell pm revoke com.example.app android.permission.CAMERA

Launch week: both sheets are 30% off until Thu, Oct 23, 10:00 UTC, applied automatically at checkout.

This is the free part. The full ADB Command Cheat Sheet: Android & Google TV Debugging, Debloating, and Device Control (production commands, best practices, common pitfalls and a debugging checklist on 2–4 dense pages) is available as a PDF, pay what you want: https://guranova.gumroad.com/l/kdxze

More sheets: https://vladguran.github.io/dev-cheatsheets/

This article was written with AI assistance.