What is Git?
Git is a widely-used version control system. In the context of Information Technology, Git allows multiple developers to work on the same project without stepping on each other’s toes. It can keep track of changes to your files (known as commits), so you can always recall specific versions of your project at any point in the future.
Developers can use it for collaborative programming and for those in IT to manage configs collaboratively or to preserve your sanity when working with configurations across multiple devices.
If you’re looking for something specific, Ctrl + F and search for it. If you’re just here to learn, grab a coffee, sit back, and let’s learn together.
I’d normally add a joke in this opening, but I am afraid you might not git it.
Git Commands
Setup
Configure your Git username (to be used for every commit)
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
Configure your Git email (to be used for every commit)
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"
Create & Clone Repositories
Initialize a new repository
git init "coffee-app"
Clone an existing repository
git clone https://github.com/username/coffee-app.git
Local Changes
Check the status of your repository
git status
Add all current changes to the next commit
git add .
Commit all local changes in tracked files
git commit -m "Added new coffee types"
Change the last commit Don’t amend published commits!
git commit --amend
Branches
List all existing branches
git branch
Switch to a specific branch and update the working directory
git checkout "espresso-branch"
Create a new branch based on your current HEAD
git branch "new-latte-feature"
Create a new tracking branch based on a remote branch
git checkout --track <remote>/<branch>
Delete a local branch
git branch -d "unwanted-coffee-feature"
Update & Publish
List all currently configured remotes
git remote -v
Show information about a remote
git remote show "origin"
Add new remote repository, named “origin”
git remote add "origin" https://github.com/username/coffee-app.git
Download all changes from “origin”, but don’t integrate into HEAD
git fetch "origin"
Download changes and directly merge/integrate into HEAD
git pull "origin" master
Publish local changes on a remote
git push "origin" master
Merge & Rebase
Merge “branch” into your current HEAD
git merge "coffee-feature-branch"
Rebase your current HEAD onto “branch” Don’t rebase published commit!
git rebase "master"
Undo
Discard all local changes in your working directory
git reset --hard HEAD
Discard local changes in a specific file
git checkout HEAD coffee-list.txt
Revert a commit (by producing a new commit with contrary changes)
git revert "commitId"
Reset your HEAD pointer to a previous commit and discard all changes since then
git reset --hard "commitId"
This should cover most of the basic and intermediate usage of Git. As always, be mindful of your current branch and the state of your local changes before using commands that modify your history, like commit, merge, rebase, and reset.
Soon, I’ll publish a guide about signing your commits in Git, which we should all be doing!!
I hope you enjoy and benefit from this resoruce.