Useful Git Commands and Basic Concepts (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 23 Apr, 2026

Useful Git commands and basic concepts help in managing repositories, tracking changes, and handling version control efficiently in development workflows.

• Provides essential commands to track, commit, and manage changes in projects.
• Helps understand core concepts like staging, commits, and repositories.
• Enables efficient collaboration and version control management.

Setting up Git Repository

Create a Git repository and understand the basic steps involved in working with Git.

1. Create a Project Folder

Start by creating a folder that contains different types of files such as text files, Excel files, Markdown files, or source code folders. For simplicity, these files can initially be empty.

2. Choose a Tool

You can use:

• Git Bash to run Git commands
• VS Code with built-in Git support

Open Git Bash by right-clicking inside the folder and selecting “Git Bash Here”

3. Initialize the Repository

Initialize the folder as a Git repository.

**Command:

git init

**Note: Do not run this command again on an existing repository, as it may reinitialize it.

4. Stage Files

Add files to the staging area so that Git can start tracking them.

**Command:

git add .

5. Create Initial Commit

Make the first commit to save the current state of your project.

**Command:

git commit -m "Initial commit"

Useful Git Commands

These commands help manage repositories, track changes, and perform version control operations efficiently.

1. git init

Initializes a new Git repository in the current directory.

git init

2. git clone

Creates a copy of an existing remote repository.

git clone

3. git status

Displays the state of the working directory and the staging area. It shows which changes have been staged, which haven't, and which files are not being tracked by Git.

git status

4. git add

Adds changes from the working directory to the staging area.

git add

To add all changes:

git add .

5. git commit

Records the changes in the staging area in the repository with a descriptive message.

git commit -m "Your commit message"

6. git log

Shows the commit history for the current branch.

git log

7. git branch

Lists all branches in the repository. The * indicates the current branch.

git branch

Creates a new branch:

git branch

8. git checkout

Switches to a different branch or restores files in the working directory.

git checkout

9. git merge

Merges changes from one branch into the current branch.

git merge

10. git pull

Fetches changes from a remote repository and merges them into the current branch.

git pull origin

11. git push

Uploads local commits to a remote repository.

git push origin

12. git remote

Manages the set of tracked repositories.

To add a new remote:

git remote add

13. git fetch

Downloads objects and refs from another repository.

git fetch

14. git reset

Resets the current HEAD to a specified state. It can be used to unstage changes or move the branch pointer.

To unstage changes:

git reset

15. git diff

Shows changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc.

To see changes in the working directory:

git diff

To see changes between the working directory and the index:

git diff --cached

16. git stash

Temporarily shelves changes in the working directory that are not ready to be committed.

git stash

To apply stashed changes:

git stash apply

17. git tag

Creates a tag to mark a specific point in the repository's history, typically used for releases.

git tag

18. git blame

Shows who made changes to each line in a file.

git blame

19. git reflog

Records updates to the tip of branches. It’s useful for recovering lost commits.

git reflog

20. git rm

Removes files from the working directory and the index.

git rm