The Most Used Git Commands: A Categorized Guide

1. Repository Setup & Creation

These commands are used to start a new project or get a copy of an existing one.

• git init: Create an empty Git repository or reinitialize an existing one.

  # Initializes a new Git repository in the current folder.
  git init
  

• git clone [url]: Clone a repository into a new directory.

  # Creates a local copy of a remote repository.
  git clone https://github.com/git/git.git
  

• git config: Get and set repository or global options.

    # Sets your user name and email for your commits.
    git config --global user.name "John Doe"
    git config --global user.email "John.doe@example.com"
  

  • git remote: Manage the set of repositories whose branches you track.

    # Adds a new remote repository named 'origin'.
    git remote add origin https://github.com/user/new-project.git
    

2. Basic Workflow & Staging

This is the fundamental loop of a Git workflow: adding, committing, and checking status.

• git status: Show the working tree status.

  # Displays modified, staged, and untracked files.
  git status
  

• git add [file]: Add file contents to the index (the staging area).

  # Stages a specific file for the next commit.
  git add index.html
  # Stages all changed and new files in the current directory.
  git add .
  

• git commit: Record changes to the repository.

  # Commits the staged changes with a descriptive message.
  git commit -m "Add initial homepage structure"
  

• git mv [old-file] [new-file]: Move or rename a file.

  # Renames a file and stages the change.
  git mv README.md README.txt
  

• git rm [file]: Remove a file from the working tree and the index.

  # Removes a file from your project and stages the deletion.
  git rm old-file.js
  

3. Branching & Merging

Branching allows for parallel lines of development.

• git branch: List, create, or delete branches.

  # Lists all local branches.
  git branch
  # Creates a new branch named 'feature/user-profile'.
  git branch feature/user-profile
  

• git checkout: Switch branches or restore working tree files.

  # Switches to an existing branch.
  git checkout feature/user-profile
  

• git checkout -b [new-branch-name]: Create and switch to a new branch.

  # Creates and switches to a new branch in a single command.
  git checkout -b feature/login-flow
  

• git merge [branch-name]: Join two or more development histories together.

  # Merges the changes from a feature branch into the current branch.
  git merge feature/user-profile
  

• git mergetool: Run a merge conflict resolution tool.

  # Opens a tool to help you resolve conflicts that occurred during a merge.
  git mergetool
  

• git branch -d [branch-name]: Delete a local branch.

  # Deletes a local branch after it has been merged.
  git branch -d feature/login-flow
  

• git push origin --delete [branch-name]: Delete a remote branch.

  # Deletes a branch on the remote repository.
  git push origin --delete feature/user-profile
  

4. Sharing & Collaboration (Remote Operations)

These commands are used to interact with remote repositories.

• git fetch: Download objects and refs from another repository.

  # Downloads new commits from the remote but does not merge them.
  git fetch origin
  

• git pull: Fetch from and integrate with another repository or a local branch.

  # Downloads and merges changes from the remote into your current branch.
  git pull origin main
  

• git push: Update remote refs along with associated objects.

  # Pushes your local commits to the remote repository.
  git push origin main
  

• git remote add origin [url]: Add a remote repository.

  # Adds a remote repository to your local project.
  git remote add origin https://github.com/user/new-project.git
  

• git remote -v: List all remote connections.

  # Displays the names and URLs of your remote repositories.
  git remote -v
  

5. Inspecting & Comparing

These commands are crucial for reviewing history and changes.

• git log: Show commit logs.

  # Shows the commit history.
  git log
  # Shows a condensed, one-line history with a graph.
  git log --oneline --graph
  

• git diff: Show changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc.

  # Shows unstaged changes in your working directory.
  git diff
  # Shows changes that are staged but not yet committed.
  git diff --staged
  

• git show: Show various types of objects (commits, blobs, trees).

  # Shows the changes and metadata of a specific commit.
  git show 7b3e0b4
  

• git bisect: Find the commit that introduced a bug using binary search.

  # A powerful tool to find a bug by automatically checking out commits in a range.
  git bisect start
  git bisect bad   # This commit has the bug
  git bisect good 7b3e0b4  # This commit is good
  

• git blame [file]: Show who last modified each line of a file.

  # Displays the commit and author for each line of code in a file.
  git blame index.html
  

6. Undoing & Rewriting History

These commands are for correcting mistakes. Some are very powerful and can be destructive.

• git reset: Reset current HEAD to the specified state.

  # Unstages a file without changing the working directory.
  git reset index.html
  # A destructive command! Resets your branch to a commit, deleting subsequent history and files.
  git reset --hard 7b3e0b4
  

• git revert: Revert some existing commits.

  # Creates a new commit that undoes the changes of a previous commit.
  git revert 7b3e0b4
  

• git rebase: Reapply commits on top of another base tip.

  # Moves the commits from your branch on top of another branch (e.g., main).
  git checkout feature/user-profile
  git rebase main
  

• git stash: Stash the changes in a dirty working directory away.

  # Temporarily saves your uncommitted changes.
  git stash
  # Applies the last stashed changes back to your working directory.
  git stash pop
  

• git reflog: Manage reflog information.

  # Shows a log of all branch updates. A safety net for recovering lost commits.
  git reflog
  

• git cherry-pick: Apply the changes introduced by some existing commits.

  # Applies the changes from a specific commit onto your current branch.
  git cherry-pick 7b3e0b4
  

7. Other Commands

• git tag: Create, list, delete or verify a tag.

  # Creates a lightweight tag for a specific point in history, often a release version.
  git tag v1.0.0
  

• git worktree: Manage multiple working trees attached to the same repository.

  # Creates a new working directory for a specific branch without cloning the entire repository again.
  git worktree add ../hotfix-branch hotfix/login-bug
  

• git clean: Remove untracked files from the working tree.

  # A dangerous command! Use --dry-run first to see what will be deleted.
  git clean -n
  # Deletes untracked files and directories.
  git clean -df