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:
  user@host % git clone --branch <branch_name> --single-branch <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