Essential Git Commands Every Developer Should Know

Friday, May 30, 2025

A comprehensive guide to the most commonly used Git commands with practical examples for everyday development workflow.

Aman Sagar

May 30, 20253 min read•

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GitVersion ControlDevelopment ToolsCommand Line

Essential Git Commands Every Developer Should Know

Git is an essential tool for modern software development. Whether you're working alone or as part of a team, mastering these Git commands will significantly improve your workflow. Here's a comprehensive guide to the most commonly used Git commands.

Basic Configuration

Before you start, make sure to configure your Git identity:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

Getting Started

Initialize a new repository

git init

Clone an existing repository

git clone <repository-url>

Basic Workflow

Check repository status

git status

Stage changes

# Stage a specific file
git add <filename>

# Stage all changes
git add .

# Stage parts of a file
git add -p

Commit changes

# Commit with message
git commit -m "Your commit message"

# Add and commit in one command
git commit -am "Your commit message"

Branching

Create a new branch

git branch <branch-name>

Switch to a branch

git checkout <branch-name>

# Create and switch in one command
git checkout -b <branch-name>

List all branches

git branch           # Local branches
git branch -a        # All branches (including remote)

Remote Repositories

Add a remote

git remote add <name> <url>

Push changes

# Push to the current branch
git push

# Push to a specific branch
git push origin <branch-name>

Pull changes

git pull

Viewing History

View commit history

git log

# One-line format
git log --oneline

# Graph view
git log --graph --oneline --all

View changes

# Show unstaged changes
git diff

# Show staged changes
git diff --staged

# Show changes between commits
git diff <commit1> <commit2>

Undoing Things

Discard changes in working directory

# For a specific file
git restore <file>

# For all files
git restore .

Reset to a previous commit

# Soft reset (keeps changes staged)
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Hard reset (discards all changes)
git reset --hard HEAD~1

Revert a commit

git revert <commit-hash>

Stashing

Stash changes

git stash

# Stash with message
git stash save "Your stash message"

List stashes

git stash list

Apply a stash

# Apply most recent stash
git stash apply

# Apply specific stash
git stash apply stash@{n}

Advanced Commands

Interactive rebase

git rebase -i HEAD~n  # Where n is the number of commits to include

Cherry-pick a commit

git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

Clean untracked files

git clean -n  # Dry run
git clean -f  # Actually delete files

Best Practices

Commit Often, Perfect Later, Publish Once
- Make small, atomic commits
- Write clear, descriptive commit messages
Branch Naming
- Use descriptive branch names (e.g., feature/user-authentication)
- Follow your team's naming conventions
Pull Before You Push
- Always pull the latest changes before pushing your work
Review Before Committing
- Use git status and git diff to review changes before committing

Conclusion

Mastering these Git commands will make you more efficient and confident when working with version control. Remember that Git is a powerful tool, and there's always more to learn. Practice these commands in a test repository to become comfortable with them.

For more advanced usage, check out the official Git documentation.

Happy coding! 🚀