616 words
3 minutes

Git Cheat Sheet

Cover image for Git Cheat Sheet

Letโ€™s skip the Git theory lecture.

This cheat sheet is for people who already know Git is a version control system and just want the damn commands. Youโ€™ve got code to write, bugs to fix, and a production deploy in 6 minutes.

So here it is: everything you need, nothing you donโ€™t.


Setup#

Set your name and email (commit author identity)#

Terminal window
git config --global user.name "Ada Lovelace"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

Creating Repos#

Start a new repo#

Terminal window
git init

Clone an existing repo#

Terminal window
git clone <repo-url>

Making Changes#

Check whatโ€™s changed#

Terminal window
git status

Stage changes (individual or all)#

Terminal window
git add <file> # just one
# or
git add . # all changes

Commit with a message#

Terminal window
git commit -m "fix: patch infinite loop in login"

Unstage a file#

Terminal window
git reset HEAD <file>

History & Diffs#

See commit history#

Terminal window
git log

See unstaged changes#

Terminal window
git diff

See staged changes#

Terminal window
git diff --staged

Remotes#

Terminal window
git remote add origin <url>

Push/pull to/from remote#

Terminal window
git push origin <branch>
git pull origin <branch>

Branching#

See, create, switch, and delete branches#

Terminal window
git branch # list branches
git branch <name> # create
# switch to a branch
git checkout <name>
# delete a branch
git branch -d <name>

Merging#

Merge a branch into current one#

Terminal window
git merge <branch>

Stashing#

Save, list, apply, and drop stashes#

Terminal window
git stash # stash current changes
git stash list # see all stashes
git stash apply # reapply latest stash
git stash drop # delete latest stash

Tagging#

Add, delete, and push tags#

Terminal window
git tag <tag>
git tag -a <tag> -m "msg"
git tag -d <tag>
git push --tags

Reverting & Resetting#

Revert a commit (safe)#

Terminal window
git revert HEAD # undo last commit
Terminal window
git revert <commit> # revert specific commit

Reset to a clean state (dangerous)#

Terminal window
git reset HEAD # unstage
git reset --hard HEAD # discard all local changes
git reset --hard <commit> # nuke back to old commit

Aliases#

Save yourself some keystrokes#

Terminal window
git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.br branch

Thatโ€™s It#

Git can get deep, but you donโ€™t need to memorize plumbing commands to be dangerous.

Pin this cheat sheet, use it daily, and add aliases for whatever slows you down.

Now go commit something before someone force-pushes to main again.


Patreon Exclusives#

๐Ÿ† Join my Patreon and dive deep into the world of Docker and DevOps with exclusive content tailored for IT enthusiasts and professionals. As your experienced guide, I offer a range of membership tiers designed to suit everyone from newbies to IT experts.


Tools I Personally Trust#

If youโ€™re building, breaking, and trying to keep your digital life sane (like every good DevOps engineer), these are tools I actually use every day:

๐Ÿ›ธ Proton VPN (60% off link) - my shield on the internet. Keeps my Wi-Fi secure, hides my IP, and blocks trackers. Even on sketchy cafรฉ Wi-Fi, Iโ€™m safe.

๐Ÿ”‘ Proton Pass (50% off link) - my password vault. End-to-end encrypted logins, 2FA, and notes - all mine and only mine.

๐Ÿฆ‘ GitKraken Pro (50% off link) - my visual Git sidekick. Beautiful commit graph, easy merges, and fewer โ€œWTF just happened?โ€ moments.

๐Ÿ’œ These links give you discounts - and help support the channel at no extra cost.


Gear & Books I Trust#

๐Ÿ“• Essential DevOps books
๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ Studio streaming & recording kit
๐Ÿ“ก Streaming starter kit


Social Channels#

๐ŸŽฌ YouTube
๐Ÿฆ X (Twitter)
๐ŸŽจ Instagram
๐Ÿ˜ Mastodon
๐Ÿงต Threads
๐ŸŽธ Facebook
๐Ÿฆ‹ Bluesky
๐ŸŽฅ TikTok
๐Ÿ’ป LinkedIn
๐Ÿ“ฃ daily.dev Squad
โœˆ๏ธ Telegram
๐Ÿˆ GitHub


Community of IT Experts#

๐Ÿ‘พ Discord


Is this content AI-generated?

No. Every article on this blog is written by me personally, drawing on decades of hands-on IT experience and a genuine passion for technology.

I use AI tools exclusively to help polish grammar and ensure my technical guidance is as clear as possible. However, the core ideas, strategic insights, and step-by-step solutions are entirely my own, born from real-world work.

Because of this human-and-AI partnership, some detection tools might flag this content. You can be confident, though, that the expertise is authentic. My goal is to share road-tested knowledge you can trust.

Git Cheat Sheet
https://www.heyvaldemar.com/git-cheat-sheet/
Author
Vladimir Mikhalev
Published at
2023-01-20
License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0