Git cheat sheet
One page. Details live in README.md. Work in a throwaway directory, not this learning clone.
Objects
| Word | What it is |
|---|---|
| Working tree | Files as they sit on disk right now |
| Index (staging) | What the next commit will contain |
| Commit | A snapshot: tree + parent + author + message |
| Branch | A movable name pointing at a commit |
| Remote | Another copy of the repo you fetch and push |
| HEAD | The commit you are on (usually the tip of a branch) |
GitHub and GitLab are hosts. They are not Git.
Daily
| Command | What it answers |
|---|---|
git status |
Branch, staged vs unstaged vs untracked |
git diff |
Unstaged working-tree changes |
git diff --staged |
What is already in the index |
git add FILE |
Copy FILE into the index |
git commit -m "message" |
Write a new snapshot from the index |
git log --oneline --decorate --graph |
History you can read |
Identity for a lab repo (local, not --global):
git config user.email "learner@example.invalid"
git config user.name "Learner"Branches
| Command | Notes |
|---|---|
git branch |
Names; * is where HEAD is |
git switch -c topic |
Create and move HEAD to topic |
git switch main |
Move HEAD back (or master if that is the name) |
git merge topic |
Join topic into the current branch |
git rebase main |
Replay current branch’s commits on top of main — local branches only until you know the cost |
main / master is a default name, not a special object.
Remotes
| Command | Notes |
|---|---|
git remote -v |
Names and URLs. Empty until you add one |
git remote add origin URL |
URL may be a path on disk; see local-remote.sh |
git push -u origin HEAD |
Publish the current branch |
git fetch origin |
Download objects; does not change your files |
git pull |
fetch plus merge (or rebase if you configured that) |
Ignore
Copy examples/gitignore-devops to .gitignore. Patterns hide files from status / add. They do not remove a file that is already in history.