Git Commands Cheat Sheet: The Commands You Actually Use

Git has hundreds of commands, but day-to-day work runs on a couple of dozen. This is that practical set — grouped by task, from staging and committing to branching, remotes, and undoing mistakes. Angle brackets <like this> mark a value you fill in.

Updated 2026-07-06

Setup

Command	What it does
git init	Start a new repository in the current folder
git clone <url>	Copy a remote repository to your machine
git config --global user.name "Name"	Set your commit author name
git config --global user.email "you@x.com"	Set your commit author email

Staging & committing

Command	What it does
git status	Show changed, staged, and untracked files
git add <file>	Stage a file for the next commit
git add .	Stage all changes in the current folder
git reset <file>	Unstage a file (keep the changes)
git commit -m "message"	Commit staged changes with a message
git commit -am "message"	Stage tracked files and commit in one step
git commit --amend	Edit the most recent commit

Branching

Command	What it does
git branch	List local branches
git branch <name>	Create a new branch
git checkout <name>	Switch to a branch
git switch <name>	Switch to a branch (newer syntax)
git checkout -b <name>	Create and switch to a new branch
git branch -d <name>	Delete a merged branch
git branch -D <name>	Force-delete a branch

Merging & rebasing

Command	What it does
git merge <branch>	Merge a branch into the current one
git rebase <branch>	Replay your commits on top of another branch
git rebase -i <ref>	Interactively edit, squash, or reorder commits
git cherry-pick <hash>	Apply a single commit onto the current branch

Remotes

Command	What it does
git remote -v	List configured remotes
git remote add origin <url>	Connect a local repo to a remote
git fetch	Download remote changes without merging
git pull	Fetch and merge remote changes
git push	Upload your commits to the remote
git push -u origin <branch>	Push and set the upstream branch

Undoing things

Command	What it does
git restore <file>	Discard uncommitted changes to a file
git reset --soft HEAD~1	Undo the last commit, keep changes staged
git reset --hard HEAD~1	Undo the last commit and discard changes
git revert <hash>	Create a new commit that undoes a commit
git stash	Shelve changes to work on something else
git stash pop	Reapply the most recently stashed changes

Inspecting history

Command	What it does
git log	Show the commit history
git log --oneline	Compact one-line-per-commit history
git diff	Show unstaged changes
git diff --staged	Show staged changes
git show <hash>	Show the details of a specific commit
git blame <file>	Show who last changed each line