25 essential git commands

1. Git init

Initializes a new Git repository in the current directory.

For more information on initializing a repository, see this page.

Example:

git init

2. Git commit

Records changes to the repository with a message describing the changes.

For more information on committing changes, see this page.

Example:

git commit -m "Initial commit"

3. Git branch

Lists, creates, or deletes branches.

For more information on branching, see this page.

Example:

git branch new-feature

4. Git checkout

Switches branches or restores working tree files.

For more information on checking out branches, see this page.

Example:

git checkout new-feature

5. Git merge

Merges changes from one branch into the current branch.

For more information on checkout, see this page.

Example:

git merge new-feature

6. Git pull

Fetches from and integrates with another repository or a local branch.

For more information on pulling changes, see this page.

Example:

git pull origin main

7. Git remote

Manages set of tracked repositories.

For more information on adding a remote repository, see this page.

Example:

git remote add origin git@github.com:user/repo.git

8. Git clone

Clones a repository into a new directory.

For more information on cloning a repository, see this page.

Example:

git clone git@github.com:user/repo.git

9. Git log

Shows the commit logs.

For more information on viewing commit history, see this page.

Example:

git log

10. Git fetch

Downloads objects and refs from another repository.

For more information on fetching changes, see this page.

Example:

git fetch origin

11. Git blame

Shows what revision and author last modified each line of a file.

For more information on using git blame, see this page.

Example:

git blame file.txt

12. Git stash

Stashes changes in a dirty working directory away.

For more information on stashing changes, see this page.

Example:

git stash

13. Git tag

Creates, lists, deletes or verifies tags.

For more information on tagging commits, see this page.

Example:

git tag v1.0.0

14. Git cherry-pick

Applies the changes introduced by some existing commits.

For more information on cherry-picking, see this page.

Example:

git cherry-pick abc123

15. Git rebase

Reapplies commits on top of another base tip.

For more information on rebasing, see this page.

Example:

git rebase main

16. Git bisect

Uses binary search to find the commit that introduced a bug.

For more information on using git bisect, see this page.

Example:

git bisect start

17. Git worktree

Manages multiple working trees.

For more information on using git worktree, see this page.

Example:

git worktree add ../new-worktree new-branch

18. Git reflog

Records when the tips of branches and other references were updated in the local repository.

For more information on using git reflog, see this page.

Example:

git reflog

19. Git rerere

Records and reuses conflict resolutions.

For more information on using git rerere, see this page.

Example:

git rerere

20. Git submodule

Initializes, updates, or inspects submodules.

For more information on using submodules, see this page.

Example:

git submodule update --init

21. Git filter-branch

Rewrites branches.

For more information on using git filter-branch, see this page.

Example:

git filter-branch --env-filter 'GIT_AUTHOR_NAME="New Name"' HEAD

22. Git update-index

Updates the index using the working directory content.

For more information on using git update-index, see this page.

Example:

git update-index --assume-unchanged file.txt

23. Git gc

Runs a garbage collection to optimize the repository.

For more information on running git gc, see this page.

Example:

git gc

24. Git instaweb

Instantiates a web server with an interface into the local repository.

For more information on using git instaweb, see this page.

Example:

git instaweb

25. Git submodule foreach

Evaluates a shell command in each checked out submodule.

For more information on using git submodule foreach, see this page.

Example:

git submodule foreach 'git pull'

Last modified: 27 November 2024