577 words
3 minutes

Git Cheat Sheet

Let’s skip the Git theory lecture.

This cheat sheet is for people who already know Git is a version control system and just want the damn commands. You’ve got code to write, bugs to fix, and a production deploy in 6 minutes.

So here it is: everything you need, nothing you don’t.


Setup#

Set your name and email (commit author identity)#

Terminal window
git config --global user.name "Ada Lovelace"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

Creating Repos#

Start a new repo#

Terminal window
git init

Clone an existing repo#

Terminal window
git clone <repo-url>

Making Changes#

Check what’s changed#

Terminal window
git status

Stage changes (individual or all)#

Terminal window
git add <file> # just one
# or
git add . # all changes

Commit with a message#

Terminal window
git commit -m "fix: patch infinite loop in login"

Unstage a file#

Terminal window
git reset HEAD <file>

History & Diffs#

See commit history#

Terminal window
git log

See unstaged changes#

Terminal window
git diff

See staged changes#

Terminal window
git diff --staged

Remotes#

Terminal window
git remote add origin <url>

Push/pull to/from remote#

Terminal window
git push origin <branch>
git pull origin <branch>

Branching#

See, create, switch, and delete branches#

Terminal window
git branch # list branches
git branch <name> # create
# switch to a branch
git checkout <name>
# delete a branch
git branch -d <name>

Merging#

Merge a branch into current one#

Terminal window
git merge <branch>

Stashing#

Save, list, apply, and drop stashes#

Terminal window
git stash # stash current changes
git stash list # see all stashes
git stash apply # reapply latest stash
git stash drop # delete latest stash

Tagging#

Add, delete, and push tags#

Terminal window
git tag <tag>
git tag -a <tag> -m "msg"
git tag -d <tag>
git push --tags

Reverting & Resetting#

Revert a commit (safe)#

Terminal window
git revert HEAD # undo last commit
Terminal window
git revert <commit> # revert specific commit

Reset to a clean state (dangerous)#

Terminal window
git reset HEAD # unstage
git reset --hard HEAD # discard all local changes
git reset --hard <commit> # nuke back to old commit

Aliases#

Save yourself some keystrokes#

Terminal window
git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.br branch

That’s It#

Git can get deep, but you don’t need to memorize plumbing commands to be dangerous.

Pin this cheat sheet, use it daily, and add aliases for whatever slows you down.

Now go commit something before someone force-pushes to main again.


Social Channels#


Community of IT Experts#


Is this content AI-generated?

No. Every article on this blog is written by me personally, drawing on decades of hands-on IT experience and a genuine passion for technology.

I use AI tools exclusively to help polish grammar and ensure my technical guidance is as clear as possible. However, the core ideas, strategic insights, and step-by-step solutions are entirely my own, born from real-world work.

Because of this human-and-AI partnership, some detection tools might flag this content. You can be confident, though, that the expertise is authentic. My goal is to share road-tested knowledge you can trust.

Git Cheat Sheet
https://www.heyvaldemar.com/git-cheat-sheet/
Author
Vladimir Mikhalev
Published at
2023-01-20
License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0