Git Command Cheatsheet - Fast-Paced with Hacks & Tips

Basic Commands

git init                     # Initialize repo
git clone <url>              # Clone repository
git add .                    # Stage all changes
git add -A                   # Stage all (including deletions)
git commit -m "message"      # Commit with message
git push                     # Push to remote
git pull                     # Fetch + merge
git status                   # Check working tree status
git log                      # Show commit history

Branching & Merging

git branch                   # List branches
git branch <name>            # Create branch
git checkout <branch>        # Switch branch
git checkout -b <branch>     # Create + switch branch
git switch <branch>          # Modern way to switch (Git 2.23+)
git switch -c <branch>       # Create + switch (modern)
git merge <branch>           # Merge branch into current
git branch -d <branch>       # Delete branch (safe)
git branch -D <branch>       # Force delete branch

Remote Operations

git remote -v                # List remotes
git remote add origin <url>  # Add remote
git push -u origin main      # Push + set upstream
git push --force-with-lease  # Safe force push
git fetch                    # Download without merging
git pull --rebase            # Pull with rebase instead of merge

Viewing Changes & History

git diff                     # Show unstaged changes
git diff --staged            # Show staged changes
git diff HEAD~1              # Compare with previous commit
git log --oneline            # Compact log
git log --graph --oneline    # Visual branch history
git log -p                   # Show patches (actual changes)
git log --since="2 weeks"    # Filter by date
git log --author="name"      # Filter by author
git show <commit>            # Show specific commit details
git blame <file>             # See who changed what line

Undoing Changes

git restore <file>           # Discard working changes (Git 2.23+)
git checkout -- <file>       # Discard working changes (old way)
git restore --staged <file>  # Unstage file
git reset HEAD <file>        # Unstage file (old way)
git reset --soft HEAD~1      # Undo commit, keep changes staged
git reset --hard HEAD~1      # Undo commit, discard changes
git revert <commit>          # Create new commit that undoes another
git clean -f                 # Remove untracked files
git clean -fd                # Remove untracked files + directories

Commit Manipulation

git commit --amend           # Edit last commit message
git commit --amend --no-edit # Add changes to last commit
git rebase -i HEAD~3         # Interactive rebase last 3 commits
git cherry-pick <commit>     # Apply specific commit
git commit --fixup <commit>  # Create fixup commit for autosquash
git rebase -i --autosquash   # Auto-squash fixup commits

Stashing

git stash                    # Stash current changes
git stash push -m "message"  # Stash with message
git stash list               # List stashes
git stash pop                # Apply + delete latest stash
git stash apply              # Apply stash without deleting
git stash drop               # Delete stash
git stash show -p            # Show stash diff

Advanced Operations

git bisect start             # Start binary search for bug
git bisect bad               # Mark current as bad
git bisect good <commit>     # Mark commit as good
git worktree add <path> <branch>  # Create separate working directory
git reflog                   # Show reference log (recover lost commits)
git fsck --lost-found        # Find dangling commits

Configuration & Aliases

git config --global user.name "Name"
git config --global user.email "email@example.com"
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global pull.rebase true
git config --global rebase.autoStash true

# Useful aliases
git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.br branch
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.unstage 'reset HEAD --'
git config --global alias.last 'log -1 HEAD'
git config --global alias.visual '!gitk'
git config --global alias.pushf 'push --force-with-lease'
git config --global alias.lg 'log --oneline --graph --all'

Power User Hacks & Tips

1. Quick Commit All Changes

git commit -am "message"     # Add + commit in one go

2. Undo Last Commit but Keep Changes

git reset --soft HEAD~1      # Perfect for fixing commit messages

3. Interactive Add (Choose What to Stage)

git add -p                   # Patch mode - choose hunks to stage

4. Find When Bug Was Introduced

git bisect start HEAD v1.0   # Binary search between HEAD and v1.0

5. Temporarily Switch Branch Without Committing

git stash && git checkout <branch> && git stash pop

6. Create Empty Commit (Useful for CI Triggers)

git commit --allow-empty -m "trigger CI"

7. Show Files Changed in Commit

git diff-tree --no-commit-id --name-only -r <commit>

8. Search Commit Messages

git log --grep="keyword"     # Find commits with keyword in message
git log -S "function_name"   # Find commits that added/removed code

9. Ignore File Changes Temporarily

git update-index --skip-worktree <file>    # Ignore local changes
git update-index --no-skip-worktree <file> # Stop ignoring

10. Sync Fork with Upstream

git remote add upstream <original-repo-url>
git fetch upstream
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main

11. Squash Multiple Commits into One

git reset --soft HEAD~3      # Reset 3 commits but keep changes
git commit -m "Clean commit message"

12. Find Large Files in History

git rev-list --objects --all | git cat-file --batch-check='%(objecttype) %(objectname) %(objectsize) %(rest)' | awk '/^blob/ {print substr($0,6)}' | sort --numeric-sort --key=2 | tail -10

13. Backup Current Branch

git branch backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)

14. Show Git Aliases

git config --get-regexp alias

15. Checkout Previous Branch

git checkout -               # Like cd -

Emergency Commands

Recover Deleted Branch

git reflog                   # Find the commit hash
git checkout -b <branch-name> <commit-hash>

Recover Deleted Commits

git reflog                   # Find lost commit
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

Reset to Remote State

git fetch origin
git reset --hard origin/main

Remove Sensitive Data from History

git filter-branch --force --index-filter \
'git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch <file>' \
--prune-empty --tag-name-filter cat -- --all

Pro Tips

1. Use --force-with-lease instead of --force - safer force push
2. Set up global .gitignore for OS/editor files
3. Use SSH keys instead of HTTPS for authentication
4. Enable autostash for rebase: git config --global rebase.autoStash true
5. Use conventional commits for better history
6. Set up GPG signing for verified commits
7. Use git maintenance start for large repos (Git 2.29+)
8. Learn regex patterns for advanced git log filtering

Keyboard Shortcuts in Git Pager

• q - Quit
• /pattern - Search forward
• ?pattern - Search backward
• n - Next search result
• N - Previous search result
• Space - Page down
• b - Page up

Remember: Git is immutable - almost nothing is permanently lost if you know where to look!