Git Command Cheatsheet

I often forget some Git commands when using it, and have to search for them every time. So I organized commonly used commands into a cheatsheet that I can refer to when needed.

Version Rollback

Sometimes you commit wrong code or want to go back to a previous version, you need version rollback.

Rollback by Number of Commits

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git reset --hard HEAD~3

This command rolls back 3 commits. HEAD~3 means 3 versions before the current version. --hard means complete rollback, changes in working directory and staging area will be lost.

Rollback to Specific Version

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git reset --hard abc1234

If you know the specific commit hash (view through git log), you can rollback directly to that version. You don’t need to write the full hash, the first few characters are enough.

View Status and History

These commands help you understand the current repository status and history.

View Current Status

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git status

Shows current branch, which files are modified, which files are in staging area, etc. I always check this before any operation.

View Operation History

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git reflog

This is a lifesaver command. It shows all operation records, including rolled back commits. If you rollback by mistake, you can use this command to find the previous commit hash and rollback again.

Concise Log Display

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git log --pretty=oneline

Display one commit per line, looks cleaner. The default git log has too much information and is hard to navigate.

Staging and Committing

These are the most common operations, committing modified code to the repository.

Add Files to Staging Area

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git add index.html

Add index.html to staging area. If you want to add all modified files, use git add .

Commit Changes

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git commit -m "Fixed login bug"

Commit files in staging area to repository, -m is followed by commit message. Write clear commit messages about what was changed for future reference.

Unstage Changes

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git restore --staged index.html

If you accidentally git add a file that shouldn’t be committed, use this command to remove it from staging area, but the file modifications remain.

Discard Working Directory Changes

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git checkout -- index.html

If you modified a file but haven’t git add it yet, and want to discard these changes, use this command to restore to the last committed state. Note, this operation is irreversible.

Compare Differences

Compare Working Directory with Repository

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git diff HEAD -- index.html

View the difference between index.html in working directory and the latest version in repository. You can see which lines were changed.

Branch Operations

Branches are one of Git’s most powerful features, allowing you to develop new features without affecting the main branch.

Create and Switch to Branch

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git checkout -b feature-login

Create a new branch called feature-login and switch to it. Equivalent to git branch feature-login + git checkout feature-login

Only Create Branch

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git branch feature-login

Only create branch, don’t switch.

Switch Branch

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git checkout main

Switch to main branch.

Merge Branch

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git merge feature-login

Merge changes from feature-login branch to current branch. Uses fast-forward mode by default, won’t create a new commit.

Disable Fast-forward Merge

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git merge --no-ff feature-login

Using --no-ff parameter creates a new commit, preserving the merge history of the branch. This way you can see which branch these commits were merged from.

Delete Branch

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git branch -d feature-login

Delete merged branch. If the branch hasn’t been merged, Git will warn you to prevent accidental deletion.

Stash Work in Progress

Sometimes you’re developing a feature and suddenly need to fix an urgent bug, but don’t want to commit current changes, you can use stash.

Save Work in Progress

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git stash

Save current changes, working directory will be restored to clean state.

View Saved Stashes

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git stash list

View all saved stashes.

Restore Work in Progress

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git stash pop

Restore the most recent stash and remove it from stash list.

Remote Operations

Push to Remote Repository

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git push origin main

Push local main branch to remote repository origin. First push might need -u parameter: git push -u origin main

Track Remote Branch

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git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/main main

Make local main branch track remote origin/main branch. After setting this up, you can just use git push and git pull without specifying remote branch every time.

SSH Key Configuration

Using SSH to connect to GitHub is more convenient than HTTPS, no need to enter password every time.

Set User Information

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git config --global user.name "Your Name"
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git config --global user.email "your_email@example.com"

Set global username and email, used when committing.

Generate SSH Key

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ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "your_email@example.com"

Generate SSH key pair. Just press Enter all the way, it will generate id_rsa (private key) and id_rsa.pub (public key) in ~/.ssh/ directory.

Add Public Key to GitHub

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cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Copy the public key content, then go to GitHub Settings -> SSH and GPG keys -> New SSH key, paste it in.

My Usage Habits

My most frequently used commands:

• git status - Check status before each operation
• git add . and git commit -m "xxx" - Commit code
• git push - Push to remote
• git stash and git stash pop - Temporarily save work in progress
• git reflog - Lifesaver command, can recover from wrong rollbacks

Summary

Simply put, there are only a few commonly used Git commands, remembering these is basically enough. Look up documentation for complex operations when needed.

References:

• Git Official Documentation - Complete Git documentation
• Pro Git Book - Git learning book