Comprehensive Git Command Reference

A quick and organized guide to the most essential and useful Git commands.

Basic Commands

git clone <URL>
Copy a remote repository to your local directory.
git init
Initializes a Git repository on your local system. You will use this command if you are starting a new Git project.
git status
Shows the state of the current working directory, e.g. how many files have been added/changed, which branch you are on, whether your local copy is up to date with the remote version, etc.
git add <file>
Add the specified file from the local directory to the staging area of Git.
git commit
Convert the staged changes to a snapshot, and save it in the local directory.
git push
Send the commits (snapshots) to the remote repository.
git diff
Show the differences between the working directory and the staging area.
git stash
Move the changes in the working directory into a stash space. This allows you to save your changes for future use, without making a new commit.
git stash pop
Move the changes from the stash back to the working directory.
git remote
View all remote repositories.
git remote add origin <URL>
To add a new host to your working directory.
git pull
Pull all the changes from the remote directory, and merge them with the local changes.
git config --global user.email myemail@domain.com
Set an email which will be associated with the commits made to the repository.
git config --global user.name "user name"
Set username which will be associated with the commits made to the repository.

History Commands

git revert <commit hash>
Each commit in a Git repository can be identified by a unique hash identifier. This command lets you undo a commit using its hash.
git reset <file>
Remove a file from the staging area, without modifying anything in the local directory.
git reset --hard <commit hash>
Permanently revert back to a previous commit. Please note that this is a potentially dangerous command, as it undoes all of the changes after the specified commit.
git checkout <commit hash>
Temporarily transform your working directory into the state it was in at the time of the specified commit.
git reset --hard HEAD~2
Permanently revert the last two commits.
git clean -n
Perform a “dry run” of the clean command to see which files will be removed. It’s recommended to use this command before executing git clean –f.
git clean -f
Remove untracked files from the working directory. Before using this, run the git clean –n command to see which files will be removed.
git rm –r <file or directory name>
Remove/untrack a file or directory from Git.

Branching Commands

git branch
List all the branches in a repository.
git branch <branch name>
Create a new branch with the specified name.
git checkout <branch name>
Switch to a different branch.
git merge <branch name>
Try to merge/join the current branch with the specified branch.
git branch –d <branch name>
Delete the specified branch.
git push origin --delete <branch name>
Delete a remote branch.
git checkout -b <branch name> origin/<branch name>
Clone a remote branch and switch to it.
git merge <source branch> <target branch>
Merge the two given branches.
git branch -m <old name> <new name>
Rename a branch.
git rebase <branch name>
Apply all the commits of the current branch ahead of the specified branch.

Inspection Commands

git log
View a list of all the commits made to a repository.
git log --summary
View a detailed log of all the commits made to a repository.
git log --oneline --graph --decorate
An easier-to-read log with a history graph. One line per commit.
git log --after="2022-7-1"
Only view commit logs after the specified date.
git log --oneline <commit hash 1>..<commit hash 2>
View all the commits between the two specified commits

Conflict Resolution Commands

git config merge.tool vimdiff
Set your preferred editor as the default merge tool.
git mergetool
Open your editor of choice to resolve conflicts in a more user-friendly way.
git checkout --ours filename.php
Take the changes from your branch for the file during a merge, while discarding the incoming changes.
git checkout --theirs filename.php
Take the incoming changes for the file, and discard the changes in your local branch.
git merge --abort
If you are in the middle of a manual merge, and have made a grave mistake, you can abort the merging process using this command.
git config merge.conflictstyle diff3
Set the diff3 merge style, which is much more intuitive than the default one.

Other Commands

git push --set-upstream origin <branch name>
Push a locally created branch to the remote repository.
git reset --soft HEAD~1
Unstage local commit without undoing changes.
git cherry-pick <commit hash>
To merge the specified commit to the current branch.
git checkout <branch name> /path/to/folder/*
To merge the contents of only one folder from the specified branch.
git commit --amend -m "New commit message"
Change the message of the most recent unpushed commit.
git mv <old name> <new name>
Rename a file.
git config --global core.excludesfile <file>
Instruct Git to ignore the specified file, i.e. never track it.
git diff branchX...branchY
View the difference of what is in branch Y, but not in branch X.
git update-index --assume-unchanged /path/to/file
Ignore the changes in a tracked file.