Essential Git Commands

When it comes to commands, there come numerous commands in a software developer head or one that is mastering over git but even only a few of them are used frequently in the enterprising domains that are used frequently by developers in order to boost workflow. So here we will be listing a couple of them prior to dividing them into categories in order to perceive real quick. These commands are peculiar curated allowing to go from scratch from creating a new repository and playing further creating branches, merging to master branch.

Categories are as follows:

• To create
• To make local changes
• To commit history
• Branches and tags
• To update and publish
• To merge and reuse
• To undo

Let us do define commands that do fall under these categories that are listed below as follows:  

Type 1: CREATE

1. Clone an existing repository: git clone
2. Create a new local repository: git init

Type 2: LOCAL CHANGES

1. Changed files in your working directory: git status
2. Changes to tracked files: git diff
3. Add all current changes to the next commit: git add
4. Add some changes to the next commit: git add -p
5. Commit all local changes In tracked files: git commit -a
6. Commit previously staged changes: git commit
7. Change the last commit: git commit –amend

Type 3: COMMIT HISTORY

1. Show all commits. starting with newest: git log
2. Show changes over time for a specific file: git log -p
3. Who changed what and when in: git blame

Type 4: BRANCHES & TAGS

1. List all existing branches: git branch -av
2. Switch HEAD branch: git checkout
3. Create a new branch based on your current HEAD: git branch
4. Create a new tracking branch based on a remote branch: git checkout – -track
5. Delete a local branch: git branch -d
6. Mark the current commit with a tag: git tag

Type 5: UPDATE and PUBLISH

1. List all currently configured remotes: git remote -v
2. Show Information about a remote: git remote show
3. Add new remote repository, named remote: git remote add
4. Download all changes from but don’t integrate into HEAD: git fetch
5. Download changes and directly merge/integrate into HEAD: git pull
6. Publish local changes on a remote: git push
7. Delete a branch on the remote: git branch -dr
8. Publish your tags: git push –tags

Type 6: MERGE & REUSE

1. Merge into your current HEAD: git merge
2. Rebase your current HEAD onto git rebase
3. Abort a rebase: git rebase – -abort
4. Continue a rebase after resolving conflicts: git rebase – -continue
5. Use your configured merge tool to solve conflicts: git mergetool
6. Use your editor to manually solve conflicts and (after resolving) mark tile as resolved: git add, git rm

Type 7: UNDO

1. Discard all local changes in your working directory: git reset -hard HEAD
2. Discard local changes in a specific file: git checkout HEAD
3. Revert a commit (by producing a new commit with contrary changes): git revert
4. Reset your HEAD pointer to a previous commit and discard all changes since then: git reset –hard
5. Preserve all changes as unstaged changes: git reset
6. Preserve uncommitted local changes: git reset – – keep