Initializing & Cloning

Start your projects right by initializing a new repository or cloning an existing one.

# Initialize a new local Git repository
git init

# Clone an existing repository from a remote URL
git clone <url>

# Clone a specific branch
git clone -b <branch-name> <url>

Staging & Committing

# Check the status of your working tree
git status

# Add a specific file to the staging area
git add <file>

# Add all changed files to the staging area
git add .

# Commit changes with a descriptive message
git commit -m "Your commit message"

# Add all tracked files and commit in one step
git commit -am "Your commit message"

Branching

Branches allow you to work on new features isolated from the main codebase.

Pushing & Pulling

Sync your local commits with the remote repository.

# Add a remote repository URL
git remote add origin <url>

# Push local branch to remote (first time)
git push -u origin <branch-name>

# Push subsequent changes
git push

# Fetch and merge changes from the remote branch
git pull

# Pull with rebase to keep a linear history
git pull --rebase

Merging & Rebasing

[!TIP] Always make sure your working directory is clean before merging or rebasing!

# Merge a branch into your current active branch
git merge <branch-name>

# Rebase your current branch onto another branch
git rebase <branch-name>

# Abort a merge or rebase in case of conflicts
git merge --abort
git rebase --abort

Inspecting History

# View the commit history
git log

# View a compact commit history graph
git log --oneline --graph --all

# View changes between working directory and last commit
git diff

# View changes of a specific file
git diff <file>