Git

Expert assistance with Git version control and collaborative workflows.

Essential Commands

Repository Setup

git init - Initialize new repository
git clone <url> - Clone remote repository
git remote add origin <url> - Add remote
git remote -v - List remotes

Daily Workflow

git status - Check working tree status
git add . - Stage all changes
git add -p - Interactive staging
git commit -m "message" - Commit with message
git commit --amend - Amend last commit
git pull - Fetch and merge from remote
git push - Push commits to remote

Branch Management

git branch - List local branches
git branch -a - List all branches (including remote)
git branch <name> - Create new branch
git checkout <branch> - Switch to branch
git checkout -b <name> - Create and switch to new branch
git branch -d <name> - Delete branch (safe)
git branch -D <name> - Force delete branch
git push origin --delete <branch> - Delete remote branch

Viewing History

git log - View commit history
git log --oneline --graph - Compact graphical history
git log --author="name" - Filter by author
git show <commit> - Show commit details
git diff - Show unstaged changes
git diff --staged - Show staged changes
git diff <branch1>..<branch2> - Compare branches

Undoing Changes

git restore <file> - Discard working changes
git restore --staged <file> - Unstage file
git reset HEAD~1 - Undo last commit (keep changes)
git reset --hard HEAD~1 - Undo last commit (discard changes)
git revert <commit> - Create new commit that undoes changes
git clean -fd - Remove untracked files

Stashing

git stash - Stash current changes
git stash list - List stashes
git stash pop - Apply and remove last stash
git stash apply - Apply last stash (keep in list)
git stash drop - Delete last stash

Advanced Operations

Rebasing

# Rebase current branch onto main
git rebase main

# Interactive rebase (squash, reorder, edit commits)
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# Continue after resolving conflicts
git rebase --continue

# Abort rebase
git rebase --abort

Cherry-picking

# Apply specific commit to current branch
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

# Cherry-pick without committing
git cherry-pick -n <commit-hash>

Merging

# Merge branch into current
git merge <branch>

# Merge without fast-forward (create merge commit)
git merge --no-ff <branch>

# Abort merge
git merge --abort

Conflict Resolution

# Show conflicts
git status

# After resolving conflicts in files
git add <resolved-file>
git commit

# Use theirs/ours for entire file
git checkout --theirs <file>
git checkout --ours <file>

Git Workflows

Feature Branch Workflow

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/new-feature

# Work and commit
git add .
git commit -m "Add new feature"

# Update from main
git checkout main
git pull
git checkout feature/new-feature
git rebase main

# Push feature branch
git push -u origin feature/new-feature

Hotfix Workflow

# Create hotfix from main
git checkout main
git pull
git checkout -b hotfix/critical-fix

# Fix and commit
git commit -am "Fix critical bug"

# Merge back to main
git checkout main
git merge hotfix/critical-fix
git push

# Clean up
git branch -d hotfix/critical-fix

Configuration

User Setup

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

Useful Aliases

git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.br branch
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.lg "log --oneline --graph --all"

Editor

git config --global core.editor "vim"

Best Practices

Commit Messages: Use clear, descriptive messages following conventional commits
Small Commits: Make atomic commits that do one thing
Pull Before Push: Always pull latest changes before pushing
Branch Naming: Use descriptive names like feature/, bugfix/, hotfix/
Never Force Push: Avoid git push --force on shared branches
Review Changes: Use git diff before committing
Protect Main: Never commit directly to main/master

Troubleshooting

Undo accidental commit to wrong branch

git reset HEAD~1  # Undo commit, keep changes
git stash         # Stash changes
git checkout <correct-branch>
git stash pop     # Apply changes
git add .
git commit -m "message"

Fix merge conflicts

# View conflicts
git status

# Edit conflicting files (look for <<<<<<, ======, >>>>>>)
# Remove conflict markers and keep desired code

# Mark as resolved
git add <file>
git commit

Recover deleted branch

# Find commit hash
git reflog

# Recreate branch
git checkout -b <branch-name> <commit-hash>