A Practical Note for Git Commands

Disclaimer

This note is intended to be a quick reference for common Git commands and is not an exhaustive list of all Git commands or options. Always refer to the official Git documentation or git help [command/concept] for the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on Git commands and their usage.

Commands for Starting a Working Area

Clone a repository

• if cloning into a new directory with the same name as the repository:

  user@host % git clone <repo_url>
  

• when inside an existing local directory dir and it is empty:

  user@host dir % git clone <repo_url> .
  

• when the local directory dir is not empty:

  user@host dir % git init
  user@host dir % git add .
  user@host dir % git commit -m "Initial commit"
  user@host dir % git remote add origin <repo_url>
  user@host dir % git pull --rebase origin <remote_branch_name> # pull the remote branch and rebase the local branch on top of it
  user@host dir % git push -u origin <remote_branch_name> # push the local branch to the remote repository and set the upstream tracking branch
  

  or

  user@host dir % git fetch origin # fetches all branches and tags from the remote repository
  
  user@host dir % git switch <remote_branch_name> # create a new local branch that tracks the remote branch
  OR
  user@host dir % git rebase origin/<remote_branch_name> # rebase the local branch on top of the remote branch
  

• clone a specific branch or tag:

  user@host % git clone -b <branch/tag_name> <repo_url>
  

• clone and download history only for a specific branch/tag:

  user@host % git clone --branch <branch/tag_name> --single-branch <repo_url>
  

• clone and download history (complete commit graph, history references, and tree metadata) without actual file contents(blobs) (bloatless partial clone) for a specific branch/tag:

  user@host % git clone --filter=blob:none --branch <branch/tag_name> <repo_url>
  

• clone with a specific depth (shallow clone):

  user@host % git clone --depth 1 <repo_url> # clones only the latest commit
  

Commands for Working with Current Changes

Add file contents to the index

• Stage all changes for commit:

  user@host % git add .
  

• Stage specific files for commit:

  user@host % git add <file_path1> <file_path2> ...
  

Record changes in the working tree but go back to the clean state

• Stash the changes in a dirty working directory away

  user@host % git stash
  

• Stash the changes with a message:

  user@host % git stash push "Stash message"
  

• Unstash the changes and apply them to the working directory:

  user@host % git stash pop
  

• Unstash the changes and apply them to the working directory without removing them from the stash list:

  user@host % git stash apply
  

Undoing changes in the working tree

• Discard changes in the working directory:

  user@host % git restore <file_path>
  

• Unstage changes from the index:

  user@host % git restore --staged <file_path>
  

Revert changes

• Revert changes introduced by a specific commit and create a new commit with the revert:

  user@host % git revert <commit_hash>
  

• Revert changes introduced by a specific commit without creating a new commit:

  user@host % git revert --no-commit <commit_hash>
  

Reset the current branch to a specific state

• Reset the current branch to a specific commit and keep changes in the working directory:

  user@host % git reset --soft <commit_hash>
  

• Reset the current branch to a specific commit and keep changes in the index:

  user@host % git reset --mixed <commit_hash>
  

• Reset the current branch to a specific commit and discard all changes in the working directory:

  user@host % git reset --hard <commit_hash>
  

Commands for Examining the History and State

View commit history

• View the commit history in a compact/full code change format:

  user@host % git log --oneline/-p
  

• View the commit history with a graph:

  user@host % git log --graph --oneline --all
  

• View the commit history for a specific file:

  user@host % git log -- <file_path>
  

• View the commit history in a file list format:

  user@host % git log --status/--name-only/--name-status
  

• View the commit history with a specific author:

  user@host % git log --author="<author_name>"
  

• View the commit history with a specific message:

  user@host % git log --grep="<search_term>"
  

• View the commit history with a specific date range:

  user@host % git log --since="2026-01-01" --until="2026-12-31"
  

• View the commit history with a specific branch/tag:

  user@host % git log <branch_name/tag_name>
  

• View the commit history with a specific number of commits:

  user@host % git log -n <number_of_commits>
  

• View the commit history with a specific format:

  user@host % git log --pretty=format:"%h - %an, %ar : %s"
  

View the current status of the repository

• View the current status of the repository:

  user@host % git status
  

• View the current branch:

  user@host % git branch
  

• View the current branch and its tracking remote branch:

  user@host % git branch -vv
  

• View the current commit hash:

  user@host % git rev-parse HEAD
  

• View the current commit with a specific format:

  user@host % git log -1 --pretty=format:"%h - %an, %ar : %s"
  

View the differences between commits or branches

• View the differences between the current branch and the master branch:

  user@host % git diff master
  

• View the differences between two branches:

  user@host % git diff <branch1> <branch2>
  

• View the differences between two commits:

  user@host % git diff <commit1> <commit2>
  

• View the differences for a specific file:

  user@host % git diff <commit1> <commit2> -- <file_path>
  

• View the differences with a specific format:

  user@host % git diff --stat/--name-only/--color/--word-diff/--compact-summary
  

Examine a specific state of the repository without being on a branch [DO NOT SAVE WORK HERE]

• Check out a specific commit and create a detached HEAD state:

  user@host % git switch --detach <commit_hash>
  

Commands for Growing, Marking and Tweaking Common History

Create a new branch

• Create a new branch and switch to it:

  user@host % git switch -c <new_branch_name>
  

• Create a new branch from a specific commit or branch/tag:

  user@host % git switch -c <new_branch_name> <commit_hash/branch_name/tag_name>
  

• Create an orphan branch (a branch with no history):

  user@host % git switch --orphan <new_branch_name>
  

Record changes to the repository

• Stage and commit all changes with a message:

  user@host % git commit -A "Commit message"
  

• Commit staged changes with a message:

  user@host % git commit -m "Commit message"
  

• Commit staged changes with a message and sign the commit:

  user@host % git commit -S -m "Commit message"
  

• Amend the previous commit with new changes and a new message:

  user@host % git commit --amend -m "New commit message"
  

Join development history together

• Merge a branch/commit into the current branch:

  user@host % git merge <branch_name/commit_hash>
  

• Merge remotely tracked branch into the current branch:

  user@host % git merge <remote_repo>/<branch_name>
  

• Apply a specific commit to the current branch:

  user@host % git cherry-pick <commit_hash>
  

• Rebase the branched-off commits of the current branch onto a new base tip:

  user@host % git rebase <branch_name/tag_name/commit_hash>
  

Commands for Collaborating

Download objects and refs from remote or upstream repositories

• Unshallow clone and fetch all history:

  user@host % git fetch --unshallow
  

• Unshallow clone and fetch a specific branch:

  user@host % git fetch --unshallow origin <branch_name>
  

• Fetch all branches and tags from the remote repository:

  user@host % git fetch --all
  

• Fetch a specific branch/tag from the remote repository:

  user@host % git fetch origin <branch_name/tag_name>
  

Push commits to a remote repository

• Push the current branch to the remote repository and set the upstream tracking branch:

  user@host % git push -u origin <current_branch_name>
  

• Push a specific branch/tag to its remote tracking repository:

  user@host % git push origin <branch_name/tag_name>
  

Pull changes from a remote repository

• Pull changes from the remote repository and merge them into the current branch:

  user@host % git pull origin <current_branch_name>
  

• Pull changes from the remote repository and rebase them onto the current branch:

  user@host % git pull --rebase origin <current_branch_name>
  

Commands for Global Configuration

• Set the global username and email for commits:

  user@host % git config --global user.name "Your Name"
  user@host % git config --global user.email "Your Email"
  

• Set the global ignore file for untracked files:

  user@host % git config --global core.excludesfile <path_to_ignore_file>
  

• Set the global alias for a git command:

  user@host % git config --global alias.<alias_name> <git_command>
  

• Check the global configuration:

  user@host % git config --global --list