Quick Git Reference

Configuring

git config --global user.name "<First Last>"
git config --global user.email <[email protected]>
git config --global core.editor <vim>
git config --global color.ui true

Starting

git init [<directory>]  # Start! Creates the .git directory inside <directory> or in the current directory if not specified

These are the files created on a newly init'ed git repository:

.git
├── HEAD
├── branches/
├── config
├── description
├── hooks/
│   └── ... ( Sample hooks, see http://git-scm.com/book/ch7-3.html )
├── info/
│   └── exclude
├── objects/
│   ├── info
│   └── pack
└── refs/
    ├── heads/
    └── tags/

Cloning

git clone <url> [<directory>]  # Clone a repo and optionally give it an alternative <directory> name

Adding Files

git add <file>  # Stage a single file
git add .  # Stage everything
git add -u  # Stage updated tracked files
git add -p [<file>]  # Stage hunks of file(s) interactively

Committing

50/72-Rule: 50 or fewer characters for summary and wrap description at 72 characters. Separate the summary and description with an empty line. The description should explain the motivation behind the change and how it is different from the previous implementation.

git commit -v  # Commit by opening an editor which displays a unified diff
git commit --amend  # Modify the last commit with the current index changes

Branching

git checkout <branch>  # Switch between branches
git checkout -b <branch>  # Create and switch to a branch
git branch -d <branch>  # Remove local branch
git branch -avv  # Show extra verbose information about branches and their remotes

Displaying Logs

Use the --all option to show all branches, not only the current one.

git log ..<other_branch>  # List changes that will be merged into current branch.
git log --graph --all  # Show log graph for all branches
git log --graph --abbrev-commit  # Show log graph
git log --graph --decorate --oneline  # Show condensed log graph
git log --graph --pretty=format':%C(yellow)%h%Cblue%d%Creset %s %C(white) %an, %ar%Creset'  # Show log graph including commiter information

Undoing

[<commit>] defaults to HEAD. More Examples: http://git-scm.com/docs/git-reset#_examples

git reset [<commit>]  # Unstage changes
git reset --hard [<commit>]  # Undo commits permanently
git reset --soft 'HEAD^'  # http://stackoverflow.com/questions/927358/how-to-undo-the-last-git-commit/927386#927386
git reset HEAD@{1}  # Undo last pull

Diff'ing

Use --stat to show summary of changes instead of full diff. [<commit>] defaults to HEAD if omitted. <commit> can be a branch name.

git diff  # Show unstaged changes
git diff --staged  # Show staged changes
git diff HEAD  # Show staged and unstaged changes
git diff <commit>  # Show changes in your working tree relative to <commit>
git diff [<commit>]..[<commit>]  # Show diffs between two commits. Whitespace can be used instead of '..' when using both <commit>'s.
git diff [<commit>]...[<commit>]  # Show diff in second <commit> from common ancestor (the point the two branches split). Note the three dots.

Working with Remotes

git remote add <remote_name> <url>  # Add remote
git remote -v  # Show remote urls after their names

Tracking

git branch -u origin/<remote_branch>  # Start tracking remote branch from current branch. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/520650/how-do-you-make-an-existing-git-branch-track-a-remote-branch/2286030#2286030
git branch -u origin/<remote_branch> [<branch>]  # Start tracking remote branch from <branch> or current branch if not specified.
git branch -d -r origin/<remote_branch>  # Stop tracking remote branch. NOTE: Remote branch is not removed.
git push -u <remote> <branch>  # Create a remote branch from local branch and track it

Stashing

Stash references have the form stash@{0}. WIP means Work In Progress. An empty [<stash>] defaults to the latest stash.

git stash list  # Show stash list
git stash [save] [<message>] # Stash current changes with optional message
git stash show [-p] [<stash>]  # Show stash diffstat or '-p' to show patch
git stash apply [<stash>]  # Apply stash
git stash pop  [<stash>]  # Apply stash and drop it
git stash drop [<stash>]  # Drop stash
git stash branch <branchname> [<stash>]  # Create and switch to a new branch with the <stash> applied to it
git stash clear  # Remove all stashes

Rebasing

Rule of Rebasing: "Only rebase local branches"

git checkout <branch>; git rebase master  # Apply changes on top of master

Using Additional Packages

gem install git-smart  # https://github.com/geelen/git-smart
gem install git-up  # https://github.com/aanand/git-up
gem install omglog  # https://github.com/benhoskings/omglog

while true; do clear; git --no-pager log --decorate --oneline --graph --all -n 10; sleep 3; done  # Quickly display git repository's commit graph with live update. See https://github.com/benhoskings/omglog for a more permanent solution.

Using Shell Aliases

ga='git add'
gb='git branch'
gci='git commit -v'
gco='git checkout'
gd='git diff'
gdc='git diff --cached'
gl='git log --pretty=oneline --abbrev-commit --graph --decorate'
glog='git log --graph --pretty=format":%C(yellow)%h%Cblue%d%Creset %s %C(white) %an, %ar%Creset"'
gloga='glog --all'
gf='git fetch'
gm='git merge'
gp='git push'
grh='git reset HEAD'
grhh='git reset HEAD --hard'
gss='git status -s'

pertrai1/quick-git-reference.md