Git Cheat Sheet

My cheat sheet for handy github operations

The usual commit routine

1. git status - Make sure only the intended files were modified or added. Edit the .gitignore file if files new files are showing up that should only be local.
2. git add -A - Stage all updates to the repo.
3. git status - Double-check which files are being updated/added/deleted.
4. git commit
5. git push - Send it into the aether for safe keeping.

Other basics

• git branch - Dispay all the local branches with the currently checked-out branch highlighted.
• git checkout -b [branch name] - Create a new branch with the given name and switch to it.
• git checkout [branch name] - Switch to an existing branch.
• git merge [branch name] - Merge the named branch with the currently checked-out branch, automatically committing the results.
• git branch -d [branch name] - Delete a local branch.
• git push -u - Push a new local branch to the remote and set upstream tracking so pulls automatically work too. Note: this ONLY works if push.default is set to current, otherwise you have to use the standard longer form of the command.
• git push origin --delete [branch name] - Delete a branch off the remote to reduce repo clutter.
• git pull - (Really a combination of git fetch and git merge) Pull and merge recent changes (that other people pushed to the remote) into your local copy. Be ready for conflict resolution.
• git log -[N] - View the last N commit messages and their commit hashes.
• git checkout [hash prefix] - Go back in time by checking out a particular commit. This also works with tag names (among other identifiers).
• git checkout [hash prefix] [file path] - Grab a file from a particular commit to get a past version of it.
• git reset - Un-stage everything (due to git add). Modified files will still be there.
• git reset --hard - Wiped all (tracked) modifications to the current local branch. POOF WARNING!
• git reset --hard [hash prefix] - Roll back the repo to a particular commit. POOF WARNING!
• git clean -fdx - Delete all non-repository files (as if you'd just cloned it). POOF WARNING!
• git stash save -u - Stash changes, including untracked files.
• git log --first-parent - Show the commit log, excluding commits from other branches that came in through merges
• git reset --soft [hash prefix] - Reset the index to a particular commit (useful for squashing commits)

Weird but Useful

• git show [hash prefix]:[old file path] > [new file path] - Retrieve file from another branch or commit with a new filename.
• git checkout [branch name] -- . - Get the file/directories state of another branch without changing the current branch or HEAD reference (will wipe out uncommitted changes).

Definitions

POOF WARNING: commands that make files go 'POOF' - as in you can't get them back

hash prefix: first six to ten characters of commit hash

"Oops, I modified a file on the wrong branch."

No worries. If you haven't staged anything, just checkout to a new or existing branch. The modified files will move with you, leaving the other branch clean (usually). If you have staged modifications, use git reset to un-stage everything and then checkout a new branch.

Handy Config Options

• git config --global push.default current
• git config --global diff.algorithm patience
• git config --global core.mergeoptions --no-edit
• git config --global merge.ff false