Git Basics Cheat Sheet

Initialize a Repository

Create a new Git repository in the current directory.

git init

This creates a hidden .git directory that tracks all changes.

Clone a Repository

Download a repository from a remote URL.

git clone <url>

Example with specific directory name:

git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git my-project

Check Repository Status

View the status of files in your working directory and staging area.

git status

Short format status:

git status -s

Add Files to Staging

Stage specific files for commit.

git add <filename>

Stage all modified and new files:

git add .

Stage all files including deleted ones:

git add -A

Add only modified files, not new ones:

git add -u

Commit Changes

Save staged changes to the repository history.

git commit -m "Your commit message"

Commit with detailed message in editor:

git commit

Stage all tracked files and commit:

git commit -am "Your message"

Amend the last commit:

git commit --amend

View Commit History

Display commit history.

git log

Compact one-line format:

git log --oneline

Show last N commits:

git log -n 5

Show Changes

View changes in working directory.

git diff

View staged changes:

git diff --staged

Compare specific commits:

git diff commit1 commit2

Remove Files

Remove a file from working directory and stage the deletion.

git rm <filename>

Remove from Git but keep in working directory:

git rm --cached <filename>

Move or Rename Files

Move or rename a file and stage the change.

git mv <old-name> <new-name>

Ignore Files

Create a .gitignore file to exclude files from version control.

# Ignore node_modules directory
node_modules/

# Ignore all .log files
*.log

# Ignore specific file
config.env

View File Content at Specific Commit

Show file content from a specific commit.

git show <commit>:<filename>

Useful Aliases

Create shortcuts for common commands.

git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.br branch
git config --global alias.ci commit