📋 Git Cheat Sheet
Quick reference for the most common Git commands, grouped by category. Pair this with the Command Sequence to see them in workflow order.
⚙️ Setup & Config
git config --global user.name "Your Name" # set your name
git config --global user.email "you@email.com" # set your email
git config --list # view all settings
git config user.name # view one setting
git config --global core.editor "code --wait" # set editor
git config --global init.defaultBranch main # default branch = main
git config --global core.autocrlf input # avoid line-ending issues
git help --config # open docs
📝 Local Changes
git init # create a new repo
git status # show current state
git status --short # condensed state
git add file.txt # stage one file
git add . # stage everything
git add -p # stage changes hunk by hunk
git commit -m "message" # commit staged changes
git commit -am "message" # stage tracked changes + commit
git diff # unstaged changes
git diff --cached # staged changes
git diff HEAD # all changes vs last commit
🕘 History & Logs
git log # full history
git log --oneline # compact history
git log --oneline --graph # visual branch history
git log --oneline --all # all branches
git log -p # history with diffs
git log --stat # files changed per commit
git log --author="Name" # filter by author
git log --since="2 weeks ago" # filter by date
git show <sha> # details of one commit
git blame file.txt # who changed each line
🌿 Branching & Merging
git branch # list local branches
git branch -a # list all branches
git branch <name> # create a branch
git branch -d <name> # delete a merged branch
git branch -D <name> # force-delete a branch
git switch <name> # switch branch
git switch -c <name> # create + switch
git checkout -b <name> # create + switch (old style)
git merge <branch> # merge branch into current
git merge --abort # abort a merge
git mergetool # resolve conflicts with a tool
🌐 Remote Repositories
git clone <url> # copy a remote repo
git remote -v # list remotes
git remote add origin <url> # add a remote
git remote remove origin # remove a remote
git remote rename origin up # rename a remote
git push # push current branch
git push -u origin main # push + set upstream
git push origin <branch> # push a branch
git push --delete origin <b> # delete remote branch
git pull # fetch + merge
git fetch # fetch without merging
git fetch upstream # fetch from another remote
git ls-remote origin # list remote refs
↩️ Undoing & Recovery
git restore file.txt # discard unstaged changes (working tree)
git restore --staged file.txt # unstage a file
git checkout -- file.txt # discard changes (old style)
git reset HEAD~1 # undo last commit, keep changes
git reset --soft HEAD~1 # undo last commit, keep staged
git reset --hard HEAD~1 # undo last commit, DISCARD changes ⚠️
git revert <sha> # new commit that undoes <sha> (safe)
git stash # save uncommitted work
git stash list # list stashes
git stash pop # restore latest stash
git stash drop stash@{0} # delete a stash
git cherry-pick <sha> # copy a commit onto current branch
git reflog # local HEAD movement log
git fsck --lost-found # find dangling (lost) objects
🧪 Advanced
git rebase <branch> # replay current branch on top
git rebase -i HEAD~3 # interactive rebase (clean up commits)
git rebase --continue # continue after resolving conflicts
git rebase --abort # abort a rebase
git tag v1.0.0 # tag the current commit
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "..." # annotated tag
git show-ref # list all refs
git cat-file -t <sha> # object type
git cat-file -p <sha> # object content
git log --grep="fix" # search commit messages
git clean -fd # remove untracked files ⚠️
🔑 Authentication (HTTPS)
git config --global credential.helper store # remember credentials
# Or use SSH keys:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@email.com" # generate key
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub # copy to GitHub -> Settings -> SSH keys
💡 Remember: When in doubt, run
git statusfirst — it tells you exactly what is going on.⚠️ Danger zone:
reset --hard,clean -fd, and force-push (push --force) permanently delete or overwrite work. Double-check before running.