🚀 Day 3: Git – Clone, Commit, Branch, Merge

Series: 30 Days DevOps Interview Preparation
Author: Tathagat Gaikwad

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👋 Introduction

Welcome to Day 3 of the 30 Days of DevOps Interview Preparation!
Git is the industry-standard version control system that allows teams to collaborate, track changes, and manage code across multiple environments.

Whether you’re deploying infrastructure, managing CI/CD pipelines, or just writing scripts — Git is everywhere in DevOps.

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🔍 What You’ll Learn Today

• How to clone a repo from a remote source

• How to commit your changes

• How to create and work with branches

• How to merge changes from one branch to another

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🧠 1. git clone – Clone a Remote Repository

git clone copies a repository from a remote source (e.g., GitHub, GitLab) to your local machine.

🧪 Example:

git clone https://github.com/tathagatgaikwad22/devops-interview-preparation.git

🔹 This command:

• Initializes a new .git folder

• Copies all files, branches, and commit history

• Sets the origin remote URL

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✅ 2. git commit – Save Changes to Local Repo

Committing is saving a snapshot of your code.

Workflow:

git add .        # Stage all changes
git commit -m "Fix: update login validation"

✅ Best Practices:

• Use meaningful messages: feat:, fix:, chore:, docs:

• Commit atomic changes — only one logical change per commit

🔎 View commit history:

git log --oneline

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🌿 3. git branch – Parallel Development

Branches allow independent lines of development (e.g., features, bugfixes).

Common Branch Commands:

git branch                 # List all branches
git branch dev             # Create branch
git checkout dev           # Switch to branch
git checkout -b new-ui     # Create & switch in one step

Always work in feature branches, not directly on main.

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🔀 4. git merge – Combine Branches

Merging brings changes from one branch into another (usually main or develop).

Basic Merge:

git checkout main
git merge feature-xyz

✅ If both branches modified the same part of the same file, you’ll get a merge conflict.

Resolving Conflicts:

1. Open the file, fix the conflict manually

2. Stage the resolved file: git add conflicted-file.txt

3. Commit the merge: git commit

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❓ Interview Questions & Detailed Answers

1️⃣ What’s the difference between git fetch and git pull?

• git fetch: Downloads changes from the remote but does not merge.

• git pull: Fetches + automatically merges into your current branch.

🔎 Use fetch when you want to review changes first before merging.

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2️⃣ How do you resolve a merge conflict?

• Git marks conflicting lines using:

    <<<<<<< HEAD
    your changes
    =======
    incoming changes
    >>>>>>> branch-name
  

• Edit the file manually to keep the correct version.

• Stage the file using git add, then git commit.

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3️⃣ What is the purpose of branching in Git?

Branching allows developers to:

• Work on features or fixes without affecting the main code

• Collaborate without stepping on each other's toes

• Isolate experiments and merge only after successful testing

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4️⃣ What’s the difference between merge and rebase?

• git merge: Combines commits but retains history (creates a merge commit).

• git rebase: Rewrites history by placing your changes on top of another branch.

⚠️ Use rebase carefully, especially on shared branches.

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5️⃣ What’s your typical Git workflow for new features?

A standard Git flow looks like:

git checkout -b feature-xyz
# make changes
git add .
git commit -m "feat: added xyz"
git push origin feature-xyz
# Create a pull request (PR) and merge after review

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🧪 Hands-on Practice Tasks

• Clone a public GitHub repo

• Create a feature branch, make a change, commit it

• Merge the feature branch into main

• Simulate a merge conflict by editing the same file on two branches

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📌 Summary

Git is a non-negotiable skill for every DevOps engineer. If you can manage branches, commit cleanly, and resolve conflicts confidently—you’re already ahead in most interviews.

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