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A Git cheat sheet (Git command

reference) | A Git cheat sheet and
command reference
By Alvin Alexander. Last updated: Nov 9, 2015
Summary: This is a Git cheat sheet (Git command summary) I've
created, featuring many Git command examples.
As I've begun to set up my own private Git hosting repository (see
Private Git hosting services, and My A2 Hosting Git repository
using SSH), it's time to cram all these Git commands back into my
head again.
To that end, here's my Git cheat sheet (Git command reference
page), with all the Git commands I currently know. Please note that
many of these commands come directly or indirectly from the
excellent book Pro Git (online here, or available at Amazon.

Git configuration (initial configuration)

# your name and email address
$ git config --global user.name "Alvin Alexander"
$ git config --global user.email YOUR-EMAILADDRESS
# more optional git config stuff
$ git config --global core.editor vim

$ git config --global merge.tool vimdiff

Global settings are put in this file:
~/.gitconfig
There is also a Git configuration file in your current Git repository.
See this file in your repository:
.git/config
Git also uses this file:
/etc/gitconfig
You can check your Git configuration using commands like these:
# show all git configurations
$ git config --list
# show a specific key
$ git config user.name

Initializing a Git repository (existing

directory/project)
If you have an existing directory or project and want to create a Git
repository from it, do something like this:
$ git init
$ git add *
OR

$ git add .
and then:
$ git commit -m 'initial commit'
Note that your Git project directory will now have a .git subdirectory.
(Explore that directory for more information.)

Git - Ignoring files with .gitignore

Before adding everything to your repository, it may be helpful to
know .gitignore:
$ cat .gitignore
# ignore java class files
*.class
# ignore binary/compiled files
*.[oa]
# ignore temporary files
*~
Some .gitignore pattern/naming rules:
Blank lines are ignored
Lines beginning with '#' are ignored
Standard glob patterns work (.a, .o)

Can specify root directory files like '/TODO'

End patterns with a slash to specify a directory (bin/)
Negate a pattern by beginning it with an '!'

Another Git init example (Github)

Here's a Git init example from Github, showing how to create and
push a Git repository to Github:
$ mkdir example
$ cd example
$ git init
$ touch README
$ git add README
$ git commit -m 'first init'
$ git remote add origin
[email protected]:alvinj/example.git
$ git push origin master
How to push an existing Git repository to Github:
$ cd example
$ git remote add origin
[email protected]:alvinj/example.git
$ git push origin master

Git checkout - Cloning a Git repository

There isn't really a "git checkout" command. Instead, you "clone" a
Git repository:

# clone a git repo from github

$ git clone [email protected]:username/reponame.git
# one of my projects
$ git clone [email protected]:alvinj/Cato.git
Note: If you clone a repository, this command automatically adds
that remote repository under the name "origin".
Renaming a repository/directory while cloning:
$ git clone [email protected]:alvinj/Cato.git cato
Git clone command using SSH:
$ git clone ssh://username@hostname:ssh-port/path
/to/foobar.git
the SSH port isn't required, just leave it off:
$ git clone ssh://username@hostname:/path/to
/foobar.git
If you don't specify a protocol, Git assumes SSH:
$ git clone username@hostname:projectname.git

Adding files to a Git repository

Ways to add a file to an existing Git repository:
# create new file
$ touch README

# add file to staging area

$ git add README
# commit the file
$ git commit -m 'yada yada'
A faster/easier way is to skip the Git staging area:
$ touch README
$ git commit -a -m 'yada yada'

Git status and diff commands

$ git status
$ git diff
$ git diff --cached

Git - Removing files

How to remove files from Git.
# TODO is this step necessary?
$ rm README
$ git rm README
$ git commit -m 'yada yada'
There is also a Git remove cached option:
$ git rm --cached README

See Pro Git Chapter 2 for more "Git remove" information.

Git - Moving files

Git is smart about files that have been moved/renamed without
using "git mv", but you can do this for clarity/obviousness:
$ git mv README readme.txt
TODO - more here

Git push (sharing changes)

To share your commits with others, you need to push your changes
back to the remote repository. The basic command is:
$ git push [remote-name] [branch-name]
As you saw earlier, a git push command to push your master
branch to an origin server looks like this:
$ git push origin master
Note from Pro Git:
This command works only if you cloned from a server to which
you have write access and if nobody has pushed in the
meantime. If you and someone else clone at the same time and
they push upstream and then you push upstream, your push will
rightly be rejected. Youll have to pull down their work first and
incorporate it into yours before youll be allowed to push.

Git remote commands

From Pro Git:

Remote repositories are versions of your project that are hosted
on the Internet or network somewhere. You can have several of
them, each of which generally is either read-only or read/write for
you.
To see which remote servers you have configured, run this
command from within a Git directory:
$ git remote
origin
another-server
yet-another-server
Or for more detailed git remote information:
$ git remote -v
[remote-name]

[remote-url]

You can use a command like this to inspect a Git remote:

$ git remote show origin
where origin is more generally the name of your remote:
$ git remote show [remote-name]

"git update" - Getting data from remote repositories

(git fetch, git pull)
To pull the latest changes from a git repository into your local
already-existing repository, use the "git pull" or "git fetch"

commands. I *think* you use git pull to get the latest changes from
the repository and have them automagically merged (or possibly to
overwrite) your local files (TODO - research this):
$ git pull
or
$ git pull [remote-name]
To pull down all the data from a remote project that you don't have,
so you can then do a manual merge, I *believe* git fetch is the
correct command:
$ git fetch
or
$ git fetch [remote-name]
Note from Pro Git:
Its important to note that the fetch command pulls the data to
your local repository it doesnt automatically merge it with any
of your work or modify what youre currently working on. You
have to merge it manually into your work when youre ready.
I think the "git fetch" workflow here looks something like this, but I
still have a lot to learn here:
$ git fetch origin
$ git log -p master origin/master
# manually check and adjust the differences

$ git merge origin/master

Please see the online Git book for more information here, I have
only done basic "git fetch" exercises at this point, and typically use
"git pull" (which is like a "cvs update" or "svn update", because I'm
the only one working on my current projects).
You can also rename remote Git repositories. See the Pro Git book.

Git status (like 'cvs status' or 'svn status')

If you need to see the status of your local Git repository compared
to the repository on a remote server named origin, you can use this
command:
$ git remote show origin
If everything is up to date, this will show output like this:
Fetch URL: ssh://user@host:port/path/to
/git/myapp.git
Push

URL: ssh://user@host:port/path/to

/git/myapp.git
HEAD branch: master
Remote branch:
master tracked
Local branch configured for 'git pull':
master merges with remote master
Local ref configured for 'git push':
master pushes to master (up to date)
This seems similar to the "cvs status" and "svn status" commands,
where you're comparing your local sandbox/repository to the

server's repository.

Git tagging
See the Pro Git tagging chapter for information on Git tagging.

Git branching
See the Pro Git Branching chapter for Git branching information.

Git help
Here's what the Git help output looks like on my current Mac
system:
Config file location
--global

use global config file

--system

use system config file

-f, --file <FILE>

use given config file

Action
--get

get value: name [value-

regex]
--get-all

get all values: key

[value-regex]
--get-regexp

get values for regexp:

name-regex [value-regex]
--replace-all

replace all matching

variables: name value [value_regex]

--add

adds a new variable:

name value
--unset
name [value-regex]

removes a variable:

--unset-all

removes all matches:

name [value-regex]
--rename-section

rename section:

old-name new-name
--remove-section

remove a section: name

-l, --list

list all

-e, --edit

opens an editor

--get-color <slot>

find the color

configured: [default]
--get-colorbool <slot>
find the color setting:
[stdout-is-tty]
Type
--bool

value is "true" or

"false"
--int

value is decimal number

--bool-or-int

value is --bool or --int

--path

value is a path (file

or directory name)
Other
-z, --null

terminate values with

NUL byte
Just type "git config" or something similar to see this Git usage
statement.
You can also type commands like these:
$ git help
$ git help [command]

$ git [command] --help

$ man git-[command]

Git log
Basic Git log commands:
$ git log

Git export
How to do a SVN-like "export" with Git:
git archive master | bzip2 > projectsource.tar.bz2
For more "Git export" information, type "git help archive" at your
command line.
(I found this answer on stackoverflow, thanks.)

Other Git reference pages

Other Git reference pages:
http://gitref.org/
http://progit.org/book/
How I set up a private Git SSH repository on A2 Hosting
How to install Git on Mac OS X

Git TODO list

Git commands I need to add to this Git cheat sheet:
git remote
git branching and merging
More git logging
git tag
More git push
More git diff

Git cheat sheet - Summary

I hope this Git cheat sheet (Git reference page) has been helpful. I'll
try to keep updating it as I learn new Git commands.