git beginner cheat sheet
This is an introductory git cheat sheet targeting beginner-level git
users. With the commands shown here, you will be able to start
tracking the history of your projects. There is certainly a lot more you
can do with git (and a lot cleaner), but the important thing is to get you
started and to provide a reference for infrequent git users. Once you
are comfortable with these basic commands (and you don’t need this cheat
sheet to remember them), you are advised to use the cheat sheet for
advanced users (not finished yet).
command line usage
The command line git application uses so-called commands. The
command line syntax is always:
git command [arguments]
Each command has an extensive manual with lots of examples:
git help command
setup
# configure your identity
git config --global user.name 'Jane Doe'
git config --global user.email '[email protected]'
# configure aliases
git config --global alias.unstage 'reset HEAD --'
git config --global alias.lol 'log --graph --decorate --oneline --all'
More about aliases here.
basics
local repository
These are the two ways how to create a local git repository you can work
with:
# create empty repository
git init project-name
# create local copy of existing repository
git clone https://github.com/idiv-biodiversity/project-name.git
Then you can start editing files.
status
# show what to do with files in working directory
git status
the staging area
git has a so-called staging area. The staging area is used to iteratively
accumulate changes for the next version.
working directory
(changes not staged for commit)
staging area
(changes to be committed)
git stage file git unstage file
repository
(tracked content)
git commit
There are some other commands that let you work with the files in your
working directory:
# discard changes to a file
git checkout file
# rename a file
git mv source destination
# remove a file
git rm file
show changes
When we talk about git, we just say diff when we mean: set of changes
from one version to another one.
# show changes from last commit and staging area to current working copy
git diff
# show contents of staging area
# (i.e. changes from last commit to staging area)
git diff --staged
commit changes
When we talk about git, we just say commit when we mean: a set of
changes that have been included in the history of a repository.
# opens editor for you to edit commit message
git commit
# commits with a short message
git commit --message 'short commit message'
More about commit message conventions here.
view history
Commits are named by their SHA-1 hash. They are often abbreviated for
readability. A commit always points to its parent.
master
topic/feature
ebe0262
03f4f8d
62a0ee9
8b29f74
7f295dd
# show all commits and their messages
git log
# also show the full diff like in git diff
git log --patch
# shows condensed view of history, only commit message subjects
git lol
