Some useful Git commands

As developers we need to store our code somewhere, and Git remains the version control system. This is an updated pass over my old command reference - same essentials, plus the newer commands that have replaced some old habits.

git config

Sets configuration globally or per-project. At its most basic, the name and email attached to your commits:

git config --global user.name "[name]"
git config --global user.email "[email address]"

Worth knowing: you can set a different email per repo by dropping the --global flag inside the project - handy for separating work and personal commits.

git init / git clone

git init starts a repository from scratch; git clone https://repourl.com/repo_name.git grabs an existing one. Both generally one-time operations.

git add

Stages changes for the next commit. git add . for everything, git add [file] for one file, and the underrated git add -p to stage hunk by hunk - the single best way to keep commits small and honest.

git commit

git commit -m "message" for the quick inline version, plain git commit to open your editor. git commit --amend fixes up the last commit when you inevitably forget a file (only amend commits you haven’t pushed).

git status / git log

git status shows the state of your working tree. For history, my daily driver is:

git log --oneline --decorate --graph

git switch and git restore

The modern replacements for git checkout, which used to do two unrelated jobs. Switching branches:

git switch main
git switch -c new-feature   # create and switch

Throwing away changes to a file:

git restore file.rb
git restore --staged file.rb   # unstage

Same results as the old checkout incantations, far harder to fat-finger.

git branch

git branch lists local branches, -a includes remotes, -d deletes safely (refusing if unmerged), -D deletes with prejudice, -m renames.

git merge

Combines branch histories:

git switch main
git merge new-feature
git branch -d new-feature

git stash

The command I use ten times a day and somehow left out of the original post. git stash shelves your uncommitted changes, git stash pop brings them back - perfect for “hang on, I need to be on the other branch”.

git remote / push / pull

git remote -v lists your remotes with URLs. git push uploads your branch (--tags to include tags; treat --force as radioactive). git pull fetches and merges in one go.

That’s the working set. There’s plenty more, but these cover 95% of a normal day.