📅November 7, 2025

⏱️8 min read

📊Interactive Tutorial

💻Git

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🔧 DevOps EssentialInteractive Guide

Git Commands Cheat Sheet: Never Get Lost Again

Stop Googling Git commands every 5 minutes. This interactive cheat sheet covers everything from basic commits to advanced workflows - with examples you can try right here.

😤 We've All Been There

"How do I undo that commit?"

"What's the difference between merge and rebase?"

"I accidentally committed to main instead of my feature branch!"

"My Git history is a mess... again."

Sound familiar? You're not alone. Even experienced developers struggle with Git's 150+ commands.

✨ The Solution: Master The Core 20

You don't need to memorize every Git command. Master these 20 commands and you'll handle 95% of real-world scenarios. Try this interactive Git simulator:

🔧

Interactive Git Simulator

Practice Git commands • Safe sandbox environment

Learn Git workflows without fear of breaking anything

🎯 Perfect! Practice Git commands risk-free before using them on real projects.

📚 Essential Commands by Category

1Repository Setup

git init

Initialize new repository

Creates .git folder in current directory

git clone <url>

Copy remote repository

Downloads entire project history

git remote add origin <url>

Connect to remote repository

Usually GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket

2Basic Workflow (The Daily Grind)

git status

Check current state

Shows modified, staged, and untracked files

git add .

Stage all changes

Use git add <file> for specific files

git commit -m "message"

Save staged changes

Write clear, descriptive messages

git push

Upload to remote

First time: git push -u origin main

git pull

Download latest changes

Combines fetch + merge

3Branching (Your Safety Net)

git branch

List all branches

* marks current branch

git branch <name>

Create new branch

Doesn't switch to it automatically

git checkout <branch>

Switch to branch

Use git switch <branch> in newer Git

git checkout -b <name>

Create and switch

Combines branch creation + checkout

git branch -d <name>

Delete branch

Use -D to force delete

4Merging (Bringing It Together)

git merge <branch>

Merge branch into current

Creates a merge commit

git rebase <branch>

Reapply commits on top

Cleaner history, but rewrites commits

git merge --no-ff <branch>

Force merge commit

Preserves branch history even for fast-forwards

🚨 Troubleshooting: When Things Go Wrong

❌ "I need to undo my last commit"

# Keep changes, undo commit

git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Discard changes completely

git reset --hard HEAD~1

⚠️ --hard permanently deletes changes!

🔄 "I committed to the wrong branch"

# Move last commit to another branch

git checkout correct-branch

git cherry-pick main

git checkout main

git reset --hard HEAD~1

💡 Cherry-pick copies the commit to target branch

⚔️ "I have merge conflicts"

# See conflicted files

git status

# Edit files to resolve conflicts, then:

git add .

git commit

💡 Look for <<<<<<< markers in conflicted files

↩️ "I want to discard local changes"

# Discard changes to specific file

git checkout -- <file>

# Discard all changes

git checkout -- .

⚠️ This permanently deletes uncommitted changes

🔄 Common Workflows

🌟 Feature Branch Workflow

# Start new feature

git checkout main

git pull

git checkout -b feature-login

# Work on feature

git add .

git commit -m "Add login form"

git push -u origin feature-login

# Merge back

git checkout main

git merge feature-login

git branch -d feature-login

🚨 Hotfix Workflow

# Emergency fix

git checkout main

git checkout -b hotfix-security

# Make urgent fix

git add .

git commit -m "Fix security bug"

git push -u origin hotfix

# Deploy immediately

git checkout main

git merge hotfix-security

git push

git branch -d hotfix-security

💡 Pro Tips

✅ Best Practices

✓ Commit early, commit often
✓ Write clear commit messages
✓ Pull before pushing
✓ Use branches for features
✓ Review changes before committing

⚠️ Watch Out For

⚠️ Never rebase shared branches
⚠️ Don't commit secrets/passwords
⚠️ Avoid huge commits
⚠️ Don't force push to main
⚠️ Test before committing

🎯 Useful Aliases

Add these to your ~/.gitconfig for faster commands:

[alias]

s = status

co = checkout

br = branch

cm = commit -m

unstage = reset HEAD --

last = log -1 HEAD

visual = !gitk

📊 Git Flow Visualization

🌳 How Git Branches Actually Work

main: A---B---C---F---G

\\ /

feature: D---E

A, B, C: Initial commits on main

D, E: Feature development on branch

F: Merge commit bringing feature back

G: New commit on main after merge

Each commit is a snapshot of your entire project. Branches are just moveable pointers to commits.

🤯

Mind = Blown?

This quick tutorial was just a taste. Want to see the full power of interactive learning? Check out our complete deep-dive into how we built this entire blog with embedded code execution.