This page contains a reference of basic git commands. This list is by no means exhaustive, essentially updated as I find things I need.
Git Basics
| command | description |
|---|---|
git help <command> |
Get git help with command, start here 😎 |
git checkout -- <file> |
Discard all local changes permanently |
git reset HEAD <file> |
Remove file from staged, keep modifications |
git stash |
Discard all local changes, but ‘stash/put away’ for later usage |
git diff <file> |
View changes for an unstaged file |
git init <dir> |
Initialize a git repo in the directory specified |
git branch |
List branches for this repo (current dir), if you don’t see a branch you know exists try git branch -a |
git branch checkout <branch_name> |
Checkout a branch with the name provided. Use the -b flag to also create branch if doesn’t already exist |
git push --set-upstream origin <branch_name> |
Push a local branch to origin (remote). |
git push origin <branch_name> |
Push a local branch to origin (remote) without setting it as upstream. |
git branch -d <branch_name> |
Delete a local branch. I usually move to a stable branch, then delete the branch I want. |
git status |
List status of staged, unstaged and tracked |
git commit -m "msg" |
Commit directly (staged files) with the provided message instead of launching something like vim/nano |
Sharing and Updating Remote Repositories
| command | description |
|---|---|
git pull <remote> |
Grab the remotes copy of the current branch, merge into local |
git push <remote> <branch> |
Push the specified branch to remote, with all changes/commits locally. Creates a new branch on remote if it does not exist |
Git Submodule(s)
Notes: Git submodules allow us to place other git repos within a project and install and maintain them using git. When cloning a repo containing a submodule we must run git submodule init ; git submodule update in order to also clone our submodule, cloning only creates the directories.
| command | description |
|---|---|
git submodule add <repo> |
Initialize a git submodule in your current directory, specify a path to place @ that location |
Common Errors / Messages
HEAD detached at 35e2f89
Your no longer on a branch, ie: master. You’ve checked out a single commit, find the branch the commit is from and check that out, git branch --contains 35e2f89 and then git checkout <branch_name>. I’ve had this occur when using a git repo with a submodule inside it with a branch other then master.
