Git Cheatsheet

CONFIGURE TOOLING: Configure user information for all local repositories
$ git config --global user.name "[name]"
Sets the name you want attached to your commit transactions
$ git config --global user.email "[email address]"
Sets the email you want attached to your commit transactions
$ git config --global color.ui auto
Enables helpful colorization of command line output

CREATE REPOSITORIES: Start a new repository or obtain one from an existing URL
$ git init [project-name]
Creates a new local repository with the specified name
$ git clone [url]
Downloads a project and its entire version history


MAKE CHANGES: Review edits and craft a commit transaction
$ git status
Lists all new or modified files to be committed
$ git add [file]
Snapshots the file in preparation for versioning
$ git reset [file]
Unstages the file, but preserve its contents
$ git diff
Shows file differences not yet staged
$ git diff --staged
Shows file differences between staging and the last file version
$ git commit -m "[descriptive message]"
Records file snapshots permanently in version history

GROUP CHANGES: Name a series of commits and combine completed efforts
$ git branch
Lists all local branches in the current repository
$ git branch [branch-name]
Creates a new branch
$ git checkout [branch-name]
Switches to the specified branch and updates the working directory
$ git merge [branch]
Combines the specified branch’s history into the current branch
$ git branch -d [branch-name]
Deletes the specified branch

REFACTOR FILENAMES: Relocate and remove versioned files
$ git rm [file]
Deletes the file from the working directory and stages the deletion
$ git rm --cached [file]
Removes the file from version control but preserves the file locally
$ git mv [file-original] [file-renamed]
Changes the file name and prepares it for commit

SUPPRESS TRACKING: Exclude temporary files and paths
$ git ls-files --other --ignored --exclude-standard
Lists all ignored files in this project
*.log
build/
temp-*
A text file named .gitignore suppresses accidental versioning of
files and paths matching the specified patterns


REVIEW HISTORY: Browse and inspect the evolution of project files
$ git log
Lists version history for the current branch
$ git log --follow [file]
Lists version history for a file, including renames
$ git diff [first-branch]...[second-branch]
Shows content differences between two branches
$ git show [commit]
Outputs metadata and content changes of the specified commit


REDO COMMITS: Erase mistakes and craft replacement history
$ git reset [commit]
Undoes all commits after [commit], preserving changes locally
$ git reset --hard [commit]
Discards all history and changes back to the specified commit


SYNCHRONIZE CHANGES: Register a repository bookmark and exchange version history
$ git fetch [bookmark]
Downloads all history from the repository bookmark
$ git merge [bookmark]/[branch]
Combines bookmark’s branch into current local branch
$ git push [alias] [branch]
Uploads all local branch commits to GitHub
$ git pull
Downloads bookmark history and incorporates changes


SAVE FRAGMENTS: Shelve and restore incomplete changes
$ git stash
Temporarily stores all modified tracked files
$ git stash list
Lists all stashed change sets
$ git stash pop
Restores the most recently stashed files
$ git stash drop
Discards the most recently stashed change set