Category: Tutorials
The following is a list of some useful GIT commands that I often turn to during my work process. It is organized in blocks of similar logical use – shortcuts here:
Remote
Cloning
Branching
Deleting
Comparing Commits
Merging
Stashing
Pushing
I will assume that you already have some familiarity with GIT, what it does and why one would use it. If that is not the case, check out Atlassian’s What Is GIT?.
The list below is a comprehensive cheatsheet intended for command line use, which I prefer. Tools such as SourceTree are super handy, in particular when dealing with conflicts. Personally, I find it more efficient when operating primarily from the command line.
First, do yourself a favor (if you haven’t done it yet), and enable git syntax highlighting – it is a beautiful thing:
1 | git config --global color.ui auto |
Now, to the actual git commands…
Remote
Syncs branch to remote
1 | git fetch |
Lists all remotes
1 | git remote |
Lists remote information (e.g. URL for fetching and push)
1 | git remote -v |
Add remote
1 | git remote add origin https://github.com/someuser/repo.git |
Removes origin repo
1 | git remote rm origin |
Shows where repository info is stored
1 | cat .git/config |
Cloning
Clone
1 | git clone https://github.com/someuser/repo.git |
Clone to a assigned directory
1 | git clone https://github.com/someuser/repo.git assigneddirectory |
Branching
Lists branches
1 | git branch |
Create a new branch (named newbranch)
1 | git branch newbranch |
Switch to a branch (named newbranch)
1 | git checkout newbranch |
Creates and switches to a new branch (named anotherbranch)
1 | git checkout -b anotherbranch |
Discard local changes of a file
1 | git checkout -- filename.html |
Creates new branch tracking a remote branch
1 | git branch -b newbranch origin/newbranch |
Creates new branch tracking a remote branch and switches to it
1 | git checkout -b newbranch origin/newbranch |
Discard local changes of a file, replace by the version in another branch
1 | git checkout somebranch -- filename.html |
Show all branches contained in the current branch
1 | git branch --merged |
Renames branch
1 | git branch -m oldname newname |
Shows remote branches
1 | git branch -r |
Shows all branches (local and remote)
1 | git branch -a |
Show path / reference to branch HEAD
1 | cat .git/HEAD |
Lists directories / branches
1 | ls -la .git/refs/heads |
Deleting
Deletes branch
1 | git branch -d branchtodelete |
Deletes branch regardless of unmerged content
1 | git branch -D branchtodelete |
Comparing Commits
Lists commits and SHA* in compact view
1 | git log --oneline |
Lists commits and SHA* in compact view, showing all branches (‐‐all) in color
1 | git log --graph --oneline --decorate --all |
Lists a certain number of remote’s commits in compact view
1 | git log --oneline origin/master -3 |
Show changes between a specific point in time to current working directory
1 | git diff 871d36b |
Compares a file from a specific point in time to now
1 | git diff 871d36b myfilename.php |
Compares a specific point in time to another point (range – from to)
1 | git diff 871d36b..e7b1871 |
Compares a file from specific point in time to another point (range – from to)
1 | git diff 871d36b..e7b1871 myfilename.php |
Compares specific point in time to head
1 | git diff 871d36b..HEAD |
Compares specific point in time to head, listing number of changes(‐‐stat) and files changed (‐‐summary)
1 | git diff --stat --summary 871d36b..HEAD |
Compares specific point in time to head, ignoring whitespaces(-b) and all spaces(-w)
1 | git diff -b -w 871d36b..HEAD |
Compares changes between branches
1 | git diff master..anotherbranch |
Compares changes between branches showing inline color coded changes
1 | git diff --color-words master..anotherbranch |
Compares changes between a branch and second to last commit in another branch
1 | git diff master..somebranch^ |
Compares remote and local branches
1 | git diff origin/master..master |
Shows changes in a commit
1 | git show 436eb47 |
Shows only a certain number of commits (3 in this case)
1 | git log --oneline -3 |
Merging
Get changes from another branch
1 | git merge anotherbranch |
Merge, but do not fast-forward*
1 | git merge --no--ff somebranch |
Only merge if fast-forward* is possible
1 | git merge --ff-only abranch |
Cancel merge
1 | git merge --abort |
Stashing
Stash local changes
1 | git stash |
Add a message to a stash
1 | git stash save "my stash message here" |
List stashes
1 | git stash list |
Lists files and inserts of the most recent stash
1 | git stash show stash@{0} |
Lists files and inserts of a certain stash as diff
1 | git stash show -p stash@{1} |
Applies latest stash and delete from stashes
1 | git stash pop |
Applies a stash and delete from stashes
1 | git stash pop stash@{1} |
Applies stash but does not delete it from stashes
1 | git stash apply |
Deletes a stash entry
1 | git stash drop stash@{2} |
Removes all the stashes
1 | git stash clear |
Pushing
Push changes to remote
1 | git push origin master |
Set tracking in relation to remote
1 | git push -u origin master |
Deletes branch on remote, keeping local
1 | git push origin :branchtodelete |
Deletes branch
1 | git push origin --delete branchtodelete |
About the Author
