Git Cheat Sheet

SETUP

Configuring user information used across all local repositories.

git config –global user.name “[firstname lastname]”
Set a name that is identifiable for credit when review 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.

Configuring user information, initializing and cloning repositories.

git init
Initialize an existing directory as a Git repository.
git clone [url]
Retrieve an entire repository from a hosted location via URL.

Working with snapshots and the Git staging area.

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 changed but not staged.
git diff –staged
Diff of what is staged but not yet committed.
git commit -m “[descriptive message]”
Commit your staged content as a new commit snapshot.

Isolating work in branches, changing context, and integrating changes.

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 [branch-name]
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.
git log
Show all commits in the current branch’s history.

Retrieving updates from another repository and updating local repos.

git remote add [alias] [url]
Add a git URL as an alias.
git fetch [alias]
Fetch down all the branches from that Git remote.
git merge [alias]/[branch]
Merge a remote branch into your current branch to bring it up to date.
git push [alias] [branch]
Transmit local branch commits to the remote repository branch.
git pull
Fetch and merge any commits from the tracking remote branch.

Examining logs, diffs and object information.

git log
Show the commit history for the currently active branch.
git log branchB…branchA
Show the commits on branchA that are not on branchB.
git log –follow [file]
Show the commits that changed file, even across renames.
git diff branchB…branchA
Show the diff of what is in branchA that is not in branchB.
git show [SHA]
Show any object in Git in human-readable format.

Versioning file removes and path changes.

git rm [file]
Delete the file from project and stage the removal for commit.
git mv [existing-path] [new-path]
Change an existing file path and stage the move.
git log –stat -M
Show all commit logs with indication of any paths that moved.

Rewriting branches, updating commits and clearing history.

git rebase [branch]
Apply any commits of current branch ahead of specified one.
git reset –hard [commit]
Clear staging area, rewrite working tree from specified commit.

Temporarily store modified, tracked files in order to change branches.

Preventing unintentional staging or commiting of files.

logs/
.notes
pattern/
.pcap
.smbcreds
Save a file with desired patterns as .gitignore with either direct string matches or wildcard globs.
git config –global core.excludesfile [file]
System wide ignore pattern for all local repositories.