$devvkit resources --cheatsheet git-cheatsheet

Git Cheatsheet

[version-control]

Essential Git commands for daily development workflows — from init to advanced history rewriting.

Git is the industry-standard version control system. This cheatsheet covers everyday commands across the full Git workflow: creating and cloning repositories, staging and committing changes, branching and merging, collaborating with remotes, inspecting history, and undoing mistakes.

Commands are grouped by workflow stage so you can find what you need quickly.

Setup & Config

$git config --global user.name "Name"

Set your Git username globally for all commits.Example: git config --global user.name "Jane Doe"

$git config --global user.email "email"

Set your Git email globally. Matches your GitHub/GitLab account.Example: git config --global user.email "jane@example.com"

$git config --global init.defaultBranch main

Set the default branch name to main for new repositories.Example: git config --global init.defaultBranch main

$git config --global alias.<name> <cmd>

Create a shorthand alias for a Git command.Example: git config --global alias.co checkout

Repositories

$git init

Initialize a new Git repository in the current directory.Example: git init

$git clone <url>

Clone an existing remote repository to your local machine.Example: git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

$git clone --depth 1 <url>

Shallow clone — only the latest commit history. Faster for large repos.Example: git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/user/repo.git

Staging & Committing

$git status

Show the current state of the working tree — staged, unstaged, and untracked files.Example: git status

$git add <file>

Stage a specific file for the next commit.Example: git add src/index.ts

$git add .

Stage all changes (new, modified, deleted) in the current directory.Example: git add .

$git add -p

Interactively stage chunks of a file. Great for partial commits.Example: git add -p

$git commit -m "<msg>"

Commit staged changes with a descriptive message.Example: git commit -m "feat: add rate limiting middleware"

$git commit -am "<msg>"

Stage all tracked files and commit in one step. Skips untracked files.Example: git commit -am "fix: resolve type error in parser"

$git commit --amend

Modify the most recent commit — change message or add forgotten files.Example: git commit --amend -m "corrected message"

Branching & Merging

$git branch

List all local branches. Current branch is highlighted with an asterisk.Example: git branch

$git branch <name>

Create a new branch at the current commit.Example: git branch feature/auth

$git checkout -b <name>

Create and immediately switch to a new branch.Example: git checkout -b feature/rate-limiting

$git switch <branch>

Switch to an existing branch (modern alternative to checkout).Example: git switch main

$git merge <branch>

Merge the specified branch into the current branch.Example: git merge feature/rate-limiting

$git rebase <branch>

Reapply commits from current branch onto the tip of another branch.Example: git rebase main

$git branch -d <name>

Delete a branch that has already been merged.Example: git branch -d feature/old

Inspecting & Comparing

$git log --oneline

Show commit history in compact format — one line per commit.Example: git log --oneline -5

$git log --graph --oneline --all

Visualize branch topology with an ASCII graph.Example: git log --graph --oneline --all

$git diff

Show unstaged changes in the working tree compared to the index.Example: git diff

$git diff --staged

Show changes that are staged but not yet committed.Example: git diff --staged

$git show <commit>

Display the full diff and metadata for a specific commit.Example: git show a1b2c3d

Undoing Changes

$git stash

Temporarily save uncommitted changes and clean the working directory.Example: git stash

$git stash pop

Restore the most recently stashed changes and remove them from the stash.Example: git stash pop

$git stash list

List all stashes in the stash stack.Example: git stash list

$git reset HEAD <file>

Unstage a file without discarding its changes.Example: git reset HEAD src/index.ts

$git reset --soft HEAD~1

Undo the last commit but keep changes staged.Example: git reset --soft HEAD~1

$git reset --hard HEAD

Discard all uncommitted changes permanently. Use with caution.Example: git reset --hard HEAD

$git revert <commit>

Create a new commit that undoes a specific commit. Safe for shared branches.Example: git revert a1b2c3d

Remote Collaboration

$git remote -v

List all configured remote repositories with their URLs.Example: git remote -v

$git remote add <name> <url>

Add a new remote repository.Example: git remote add upstream https://github.com/upstream/repo.git

$git push

Push commits from the current branch to its remote tracking branch.Example: git push origin main

$git push -u origin <branch>

Push a new branch to remote and set up tracking.Example: git push -u origin feature/auth

$git push --force-with-lease

Force push safely — only if your remote-tracking ref matches. Safer than --force.Example: git push --force-with-lease

$git pull

Fetch and merge changes from the remote tracking branch.Example: git pull origin main

$git fetch

Download commits and refs from remote without merging.Example: git fetch origin

$git tag <name>

Create an annotated tag at the current commit, typically for releases.Example: git tag v1.0.0 -m "Release v1.0.0"

$git push --tags

Push all local tags to the remote repository.Example: git push --tags

Git Cheatsheet

Essential Git commands for daily development workflows — from init to advanced history rewriting.

Commands are grouped by workflow stage so you can find what you need quickly.

Setup & Config

git config --global user.name "Name" — Set your Git username globally for all commits.

Example: git config --global user.name "Jane Doe"

git config --global user.email "email" — Set your Git email globally. Matches your GitHub/GitLab account.

Example: git config --global user.email "jane@example.com"

git config --global init.defaultBranch main — Set the default branch name to main for new repositories.

Example: git config --global init.defaultBranch main

git config --global alias.<name> <cmd> — Create a shorthand alias for a Git command.

Example: git config --global alias.co checkout

Repositories

git init — Initialize a new Git repository in the current directory.

Example: git init

git clone <url> — Clone an existing remote repository to your local machine.

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

git clone --depth 1 <url> — Shallow clone — only the latest commit history. Faster for large repos.

Example: git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/user/repo.git

Staging & Committing

git status — Show the current state of the working tree — staged, unstaged, and untracked files.

Example: git status

git add <file> — Stage a specific file for the next commit.

Example: git add src/index.ts

git add . — Stage all changes (new, modified, deleted) in the current directory.

Example: git add .

git add -p — Interactively stage chunks of a file. Great for partial commits.

Example: git add -p

git commit -m "<msg>" — Commit staged changes with a descriptive message.

Example: git commit -m "feat: add rate limiting middleware"

git commit -am "<msg>" — Stage all tracked files and commit in one step. Skips untracked files.

Example: git commit -am "fix: resolve type error in parser"

git commit --amend — Modify the most recent commit — change message or add forgotten files.

Example: git commit --amend -m "corrected message"

Branching & Merging

git branch — List all local branches. Current branch is highlighted with an asterisk.

Example: git branch

git branch <name> — Create a new branch at the current commit.

Example: git branch feature/auth

git checkout -b <name> — Create and immediately switch to a new branch.

Example: git checkout -b feature/rate-limiting

git switch <branch> — Switch to an existing branch (modern alternative to checkout).

Example: git switch main

git merge <branch> — Merge the specified branch into the current branch.

Example: git merge feature/rate-limiting

git rebase <branch> — Reapply commits from current branch onto the tip of another branch.

Example: git rebase main

git branch -d <name> — Delete a branch that has already been merged.

Example: git branch -d feature/old

Inspecting & Comparing

git log --oneline — Show commit history in compact format — one line per commit.

Example: git log --oneline -5

git log --graph --oneline --all — Visualize branch topology with an ASCII graph.

Example: git log --graph --oneline --all

git diff — Show unstaged changes in the working tree compared to the index.

Example: git diff

git diff --staged — Show changes that are staged but not yet committed.

Example: git diff --staged

git show <commit> — Display the full diff and metadata for a specific commit.

Example: git show a1b2c3d

Undoing Changes

git stash — Temporarily save uncommitted changes and clean the working directory.

Example: git stash

git stash pop — Restore the most recently stashed changes and remove them from the stash.

Example: git stash pop

git stash list — List all stashes in the stash stack.

Example: git stash list

git reset HEAD <file> — Unstage a file without discarding its changes.

Example: git reset HEAD src/index.ts

git reset --soft HEAD~1 — Undo the last commit but keep changes staged.

Example: git reset --soft HEAD~1

git reset --hard HEAD — Discard all uncommitted changes permanently. Use with caution.

Example: git reset --hard HEAD

git revert <commit> — Create a new commit that undoes a specific commit. Safe for shared branches.

Example: git revert a1b2c3d

Remote Collaboration

git remote -v — List all configured remote repositories with their URLs.

Example: git remote -v

git remote add <name> <url> — Add a new remote repository.

Example: git remote add upstream https://github.com/upstream/repo.git

git push — Push commits from the current branch to its remote tracking branch.

Example: git push origin main

git push -u origin <branch> — Push a new branch to remote and set up tracking.

Example: git push -u origin feature/auth

git push --force-with-lease — Force push safely — only if your remote-tracking ref matches. Safer than --force.

Example: git push --force-with-lease

git pull — Fetch and merge changes from the remote tracking branch.

Example: git pull origin main

git fetch — Download commits and refs from remote without merging.

Example: git fetch origin

git tag <name> — Create an annotated tag at the current commit, typically for releases.

Example: git tag v1.0.0 -m "Release v1.0.0"

git push --tags — Push all local tags to the remote repository.

Example: git push --tags