GitHub has become an essential tool for developers to manage, store, and collaborate with other developers on software projects. With its simple powerful git-based version control system, GitHub allows users to track changes in their code and keep history of the entire project timeline.

In this article, we will learn about the most commonly used git commands with their examples. You can learn what each git command does and how it is used in projects or repositories with examples.

So, first let’s start with the git commands and its descriptions. It will give you a quick overview of what each command does.

Git Command with descriptions

Command	Description
git init	Initialize a local Git repository
git clone repo_url	Clone public repository
git clone ssh://[email protected]/[username]/[repository-name].git	Clone private repository
git status	Check status
git add [file-name]	Add a file to the staging area
git add -A	Add all new and changed files to the staging area
git commit -m "[commit message]"	Commit changes
git rm -r [file-name.txt]	Remove a file (or folder)
git branch	List of branches (the asterisk denotes the current branch)
git branch -a	List all branches (local and remote)
git branch [branch name]	Create a new branch
git branch -d [branch name]	Delete a branch
git branch -D [branch name]	Delete a branch forcefully
git push origin --delete [branch name]	Delete a remote branch
git checkout -b [branch name]	Create a new branch and switch to it
git checkout -b [branch name] origin/[branch name]	Clone a remote branch and switch to it
git branch -m [old branch name] [new branch name]	Rename a local branch
git checkout [branch name]	Switch to a branch
git checkout -	Switch to the branch last checked out
git checkout -- [file-name.txt]	Discard changes to a file
git merge [branch name]	Merge a branch into the active branch
git merge [source branch] [target branch]	Merge a branch into a target branch
git stash	Stash changes in a dirty working directory
git stash clear	Remove all stashed entries
git push origin [branch name]	Push a branch to your remote repository
git push -u origin [branch name]	Push changes to remote repository (and remember the branch)
git push	Push changes to remote repository (remembered branch)
git push origin --delete [branch name]	Delete a remote branch
git pull	Update local repository to the newest commit
git pull origin [branch name]	Pull changes from remote repository
git remote add origin ssh://[email protected]/[username]/[repository-name].git	Add a remote repository
git remote set-url origin ssh://[email protected]/[username]/[repository-name].git	Set a repository’s origin branch to SSH
git log	View changes
git log --summary	View changes (detailed)
git log --oneline	View changes (briefly)
git diff [source branch] [target branch]	Preview changes before merging
git revert commitid	Revert commit changes
git config --global user.name "your_username"	Set globally Username
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"	Set globally Email id
git config --global --list	Get global config

Git Commands with examples

Here are examples of all the Git commands that we use regularly in our software development process. Learn the commands with examples and explanations below.

Initialize a repository

git init

Initializes a new local Git repository. This sets up all the necessary files and directories needed for version control.

Clone a repository

git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

Makes a copy of a remote Git repository to your local machine. This downloads the project’s files, history, and branches.

Add files to staging

git add file.txt
git add .

Stages files to be committed. This puts the files into the staging area to be included in the next commit.

Commit changes

git commit -m "My commit message"

Records a snapshot of the staged changes in the project history. This requires a commit message describing the updates.

Push commits to remote

git push origin main

Pushes local commits to the remote repository. This updates the remote branch with your local changes.

Pull latest changes

git pull origin main

Fetches the latest updates from the remote repository and merges them into your local branch.

Create a branch

git branch new-feature

It creates a new branch in the repository. In the above example, we create a branch named “new-feature”.

Switch to a branch

git checkout new-feature

It switches the user from the current branch (let’s say the master branch) to the new branch that is created i.e. “new-feature” branch.

List branches

git branch

Lists all local branches in the repo. The current branch is highlighted with an asterisk.

Merge a branch

git merge new-feature

Merges changes from a different branch into the current branch. This combines divergent branches and resolves any conflicts.

View commit history

git log

Shows the commit history and changes. Useful for auditing the project history.

Undo a commit

git revert {commitID} 

Reverts a previous commit, effectively undoing those changes in a new commit.

Set up user info

git config --global user.name "John Doe"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

This sets the user name and email address that will be associated with your Git commits. Whenever we commit a change in Git, it is recorded under a user profile. This command sets the user name and email globally for your account in your machine.

Status

git status

Shows the state of your working directory and staging area. It lets you see which files are modified, staged, etc.

Remove file

git rm file.txt

Removes files from the working directory and stages the removal for commit. This begins tracking the file removal.

Delete branch

git branch -d branch-to-delete
git branch -D branch-to-delete

This command will delete a branch from your repository. Change “branch-to-delete” with the name of the branch you want to delete.

Rename branch

git branch -m old-name new-name

This commands helps you to rename a branch name in your git repository.

Stash

git stash
git stash clear

Temporarily stores uncommitted changes for later use. This cleans your working directory to switch branches.

Set remote URL

git remote set-url origin ssh://[email protected]/user/repo.git

The git remote set-url command allows you to change the URL that a remote Git repository is pointing to.

Preview merge

git diff branch-1 branch-2

The git diff command in Git allows you to view differences between commits, branches, files and more.

Undo commit

git revert {commitID}

The git revert command in Git is used to undo a committed snapshot by creating a new commit.

The {commitID} refers to the unique SHA-1 hash identifier of the commit that you want to undo.

Conclusion

In summary, we can say that, while Git and Github have a lot of power and flexibility for managing code projects, the core concepts boil down to a handful of simple but powerful commands. Cloning, committing, pushing, pulling, branching and merging form the basis for most Git workflows. And mastering these commands helps to work efficiently on our development projects.

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Download GitHub Commands Cheat Sheets

Download the github Cheatsheet that contains more commonly used github commands.

Download Git Commands Cheat Sheets