Git Cheat Sheet

What is Git?

All local GitHub activity on your computer is managed by Git, a distributed version control system that is free and open source. The most significant and often used Git commands are listed on this cheat sheet for quick access.

Setup

git config --global user.name “[firstname lastname]”

Set a name that is identifiable for credit when reviewing version history.

git config --global user.email “[valid-email]”

Set an email address that will be associated with each history marker

git config --global color.ui auto

Set automatic command line coloring for Git for easy reviewing

Setup & initialization

git init

Initialize an existing directory as a Git repository

Git close[URL]

Retrieve an entire repository from a hosted location via URL

Stage and snapshot

git status

show modified files in working directory, staged for your next commit

git add [file]

add a file as it looks now to your next commit (stage)

git reset [file]

unstage a file while retaining the changes in working directory

git diff

diff of what is staged but not yet commited

git commit -m “[descriptive message]”

commit your staged content as a new commit snapshot

Branch and Merge

git branch

list your branches. a * will appear next to the currently active branch

git branch [branch-name]

create a new branch at the current commit

git checkout

switch to another branch and check it out into your working directory

git merge [branch]

merge the specified branch’s history into the current one