Git¶

Git is a distributed version control system for tracking changes in source code during software development. It is designed for coordinating work among programmers, but it can be used to track changes in any set of files.

Installation¶

MacOS¶

brew install git

Debian¶

apt install git

Examples¶

Configuration¶

Set your identity for all repositories on your machine:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "youremail@example.com"

Creating and Cloning¶

Initialize a new local repository:

git init

Clone an existing repository:

git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

Basic Workflow¶

Check the status of your files:

git status

Stage changes for the next commit:

git add file.txt       # Stage a specific file
git add .              # Stage all changes

Commit staged changes:

git commit -m "Brief description of changes"

Branching¶

Create a new branch and switch to it:

git checkout -b feature-branch
# OR (newer syntax)
git switch -c feature-branch

Switch back to the main branch:

git switch main

Merge a branch into the current one:

git merge feature-branch

Remote Collaboration¶

Download latest changes from remote (without merging):

git fetch origin

Update local branch with remote changes:

git pull origin main

Upload local commits to remote:

git push origin feature-branch

Undoing Changes¶

Discard local changes in a file:

git restore file.txt

Unstage a file (keep the changes):

git restore --staged file.txt

Note¶

zsh git plugin reference: https://github.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/tree/master/plugins/git

Help output¶

usage: git [-v | --version] [-h | --help] [-C <path>] [-c <name>=<value>]
           [--exec-path[=<path>]] [--html-path] [--man-path] [--info-path]
           [-p | --paginate | -P | --no-pager] [--no-replace-objects] [--bare]
           [--git-dir=<path>] [--work-tree=<path>] [--namespace=<name>]
           [--super-prefix=<path>] [--config-env=<name>=<envvar>]
           <command> [<args>]

These are common Git commands used in various situations:

start a working area (see also: git help tutorial)
   clone     Clone a repository into a new directory
   init      Create an empty Git repository or reinitialize an existing one

work on the current change (see also: git help everyday)
   add       Add file contents to the index
   mv        Move or rename a file, a directory, or a symlink
   restore   Restore working tree files
   rm        Remove files from the working tree and from the index

examine the history and state (see also: git help revisions)
   bisect    Use binary search to find the commit that introduced a bug
   diff      Show changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc
   grep      Print lines matching a pattern
   log       Show commit logs
   show      Show various types of objects
   status    Show the working tree status

grow, mark and tweak your common history
   branch    List, create, or delete branches
   commit    Record changes to the repository
   merge     Join two or more development histories together
   rebase    Reapply commits on top of another base tip
   reset     Reset current HEAD to the specified state
   switch    Switch branches
   tag       Create, list, delete or verify a tag object signed with GPG

collaborate (see also: git help workflows)
   fetch     Download objects and refs from another repository
   pull      Fetch from and integrate with another repository or a local branch
   push      Update remote refs along with associated objects

'git help -a' and 'git help -g' list available subcommands and some
concept guides. See 'git help <command>' or 'git help <concept>'
to read about a specific subcommand or concept.
See 'git help git' for an overview of the system.