Quick Reference · distributed version control

git cheat sheet

Every command moves a snapshot between four places: your working directory, the staging area, your local repo, and a remote. Learn the map once and the commands stop being a list to memorize.

working dir staging area local repo remote destructive ★ most common

Distilled & cross-checked across: github.com/education · git-scm.com · atlassian.com/git · about.gitlab.com · cheat-sheets.org · rcs.bu.edu

The four areas & the commands that move work between them

01Setup & Configonce per machine

git config --global user.name "Name"
Name stamped on every commit.
git config --global user.email "you@ex.com"
Email stamped on every commit.
git config --global color.ui auto
Colorize Git output for readability.
git config --global alias.st status
Make git st a shortcut.
git config --list
Show all current settings.

02Start a Projectinit or clone

git init★
Turn the current folder into a repo.
git clone <url>★
Copy a remote repo + full history locally.
git init <dir>
Create a new repo in a named directory.

03Stage & Snapshotthe daily loop

git status★
What's modified, staged, untracked.
git add <file>★
Stage a file for the next commit.
git add .★
Stage all changes in this directory tree.
git add -p
Interactively choose hunks to stage.
git diff
Unstaged changes (working vs. staged).
git diff --staged
Staged changes (staged vs. last commit).
git reset <file>
Unstage, but keep the working-dir changes.
git commit -m "msg"★
Snapshot the staged content.
git commit -am "msg"
Stage all tracked changes + commit.
git commit --amend
Fold staged changes into the last commit.

04Branch & Mergeparallel work

git branch★
List branches (★ marks current).
git branch <name>
Create a branch at the current commit.
git switch <name>★
Switch branches (modern form).
git switch -c <name>★
Create + switch in one step.
git checkout <name>
Older switch syntax (still works).
git merge <branch>★
Merge a branch into the current one.
git branch -d <name>
Delete a merged branch.
git branch -D <name>force
Delete even if unmerged (loses work).

05Share & Synctalk to the remote

git remote add <name> <url>
Register a remote (usually origin).
git remote -v
List remotes and their URLs.
git fetch <remote>
Download refs — look, don't touch.
git pull★
Fetch + merge into current branch.
git pull --rebase
Fetch + rebase (keeps history linear).
git push★
Upload commits to the tracked branch.
git push -u origin <name>★
First push: set upstream tracking.
git push --tags
Tags aren't pushed by default — send them.
git push --force-with-leasecare
Safer force-push (won't clobber others' work).

06Inspect & Compareread history

git log★
Commit history of current branch.
git log --oneline★
One compact line per commit.
git log --graph --decorate
ASCII branch graph + ref labels.
git log --follow <file>
History of a file, across renames.
git log B..A
Commits on A that aren't on B.
git show <SHA>
Full detail of one commit/object.
git blame <file>
Who last changed each line.
git reflog★
Every move HEAD made — your safety net.

07Stasha temporary shelf

git stash★
Shelve modified tracked files; clean tree.
git stash pop★
Re-apply newest stash & remove it.
git stash list
Show the stash stack.
git stash drop
Discard the newest stash.

08Taggingmark releases

git tag
List all tags.
git tag <name>
Lightweight tag on the current commit.
git tag -a <name> <SHA>
Annotated tag on a specific commit.
git tag -d <name>
Delete a local tag.

09Undo & Rewritehandle with care

git restore <file>★
Discard unstaged changes to a file.
git revert <SHA>★
New commit that undoes one — safe to share.
git reset HEAD^
Undo last commit, keep working changes.
git rebase <branch>
Replay commits onto a new base.
git rebase -i HEAD~5
Interactively squash/reword/drop.
git reset --hard <commit>destroys
Reset tree + index; discards changes.
git clean -fddestroys
Delete untracked files/dirs (use -n first).

10Move & Removetrack path changes

git rm <file>
Delete file + stage the removal.
git rm --cached <file>★
Stop tracking, keep file on disk.
git mv <old> <new>
Rename/move + stage the change.
git cherry-pick <SHA>
Copy one commit onto current branch.

11Ignoring Files.gitignore

logs/
Ignore a whole directory.
*.swp
Ignore by wildcard glob.
!logs/.gitkeep
Negate — re-include one path.
git config --global core.excludesfile <f>
A global ignore for every repo.

★Refer to a Commitanywhere you see <commit>

main
a branch name
v0.1
a tag
3e887ab
a commit SHA (short is fine)
origin/main
a remote-tracking branch
HEAD
the current commit
HEAD~3
3 commits before HEAD

Combining diverged branches

Same goal — bring two branches back together — three different shapes of history. Based on the git-scm.com reference diagrams.

git merge

Creates a merge commit (M) with two parents. History keeps the true branched shape.

git rebase

Replays feature's commits on top of main as D′, E′. Linear history; the originals are rewritten.

git merge --squash

Collapses all of feature's work into a single new commit on main. One tidy commit, no merge node.

fast-forward merge

main had no new commits, so its pointer just slides forward. No merge commit is created at all.

Worth memorizing

fetch ≠ pullfetch downloads; pull = fetch + merge

reset ≠ revertreset rewrites history; revert adds an undo commit

-d vs -Dlowercase = safe; UPPERCASE = force

add . ≠ commit -acommit -a skips brand-new untracked files

.git/configper-repo config · ~/.gitconfig = global

reflogrecovers "lost" commits after a bad rebase/reset

-u on first pushsets upstream so later push/pull need no args

force-with-leasealways prefer over plain --force

Git cheat sheet · synthesized from the official references of GitHub Education, Git (git-scm.com), Atlassian, GitLab, cheat-sheets.org, and Boston University RCS.
Commands shown for Git ≈ 2.40+ · modern switch/restore verbs preferred over the older overloaded checkout.