Commands Cheat Sheet
This cheat sheet provides a quick reference of common Git commands.
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This is a living cheat sheet that evolves with regular updates which simply means currently, this cheat sheet covers basic commands but will be expanded to include more advanced commands in the future.
Initialization & Cloning
| Description | Command | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Initialize in current directory | git init | Initializes a new Git repository in the current directory. |
| Initialize a new repository | git init <name> | Creates a new directory with the specified name and initializes it as a Git repository. Example: git init hello-world |
| Clone a repository | git clone <url> | Clones an existing repository. Example: git clone https://github.com/github/docs.git |
| Clone with SSH | git clone <url> | Clones using SSH for authentication. Example: git clone git@github.com:github/docs.git |
| Clone into specific directory | git clone <url> <directory> | Clones into a specified directory. Example: git clone https://github.com/github/docs.git github-docs |
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HTTPS is the most common method for cloning repositories, while SSH is often used for contributors with write access. There is also a difference in URL format between the two methods.
| Protocol | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| HTTPS | https://<host>/<user>/<repository>.git | https://github.com/github/docs.git |
| SSH | git@<host>:<user>/<repository>.git | git@github.com:github/docs.git |
Configuration
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--global applies the setting for all repositories for the current user. Omit
it to set the configuration for the current repository only, but requires being
inside a Git repository.
| Description | Command | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Set user name | git config --global user.name "<name>" | Sets the global username for commits. Example: git config --global user.name "adam" |
| Set user email | git config --global user.email "<email>" | Sets the global email for commits. Example: git config --global user.email "adam@example.com" |
| Set default text editor | git config --global core.editor <editor> | Sets the default text editor for Git. Example: git config --global core.editor /usr/bin/vim |
| Set default branch name | git config --global init.defaultBranch <name> | Sets the default branch name for new repositories. Example: git config --global init.defaultBranch main |
| Set alias | git config --global alias.<alias> <command> | Creates a shortcut for a Git command. Example: git config --global alias.cl clone |
| Remove alias | git config --global --unset alias.<alias> | Removes a previously set alias. Example: git config --global --unset alias.cl |
| View specific config value | git config --global user.name | Displays the value of a specific configuration setting. |
| View configuration | git config --global --list | Lists all Git configuration settings. |
| Edit configuration file | git config --global --edit | Opens the global config file in the default editor. |
Staging & Committing
| Description | Command | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Check status | git status | Displays the status of the working directory and staging area. |
| Stage specific file | git add <file> | Stages a specific file. Example: git add README.md |
| Stage specific files | git add <file1> <file2> | Stages multiple specific files. Example: git add README.md index.html |
| Stage all changes | git add . | Stages all modified and new files. |
| Commit staged changes | git commit -m "<message>" | Commits staged changes with a message. Example: git commit -m "Initial commit" |
| Amend last commit | git commit --amend -m "<message>" | Amends the last commit with a new message. Example: git commit --amend -m "Updated commit message" |