Git Commands

Essential Git commands for version control workflows, including advanced stash operations and SSH configuration.

Stash Operations

Git stash temporarily stores modified tracked files, allowing you to switch branches without committing.

Quick Reference

Task	Command
Stash one file	`git stash push -m "message" -- file.txt`
Stash untracked files	`git stash push -m "message" -u`
Apply with staged state	`git stash apply --index`
Apply specific stash	`git stash apply stash@{0}`
List stashes	`git stash list`
Show stash contents	`git stash show -p stash@{0}`
Drop stash	`git stash drop stash@{0}`
Clear all stashes	`git stash clear`

Basic Stash Commands

bash

# Stash current changes
git stash

# Stash with message
git stash push -m "Work in progress on feature X"

# Stash including untracked files
git stash push -u

# Stash including untracked and ignored files
git stash push -a

Stash Specific Files

bash

# Stash single file
git stash push -m "Update config" -- config.json

# Stash multiple files
git stash push -m "Update configs" -- config.json settings.yml

# Stash files matching pattern
git stash push -m "Stash tests" -- tests/*.test.js

Applying Stashes

bash

# Apply most recent stash (keep stash)
git stash apply

# Apply and remove most recent stash
git stash pop

# Apply specific stash
git stash apply stash@{2}

# Apply stash and restore staged state
git stash apply --index

Managing Stashes

bash

# List all stashes
git stash list

# Show stash changes
git stash show

# Show detailed stash changes
git stash show -p

# Show specific stash
git stash show -p stash@{1}

# Create branch from stash
git stash branch feature-branch stash@{0}

# Drop specific stash
git stash drop stash@{0}

# Clear all stashes
git stash clear

Stash Examples

bash

# Stash before switching branches
git stash push -m "WIP: user authentication"
git checkout main

# Later, return and apply stash
git checkout feature-auth
git stash pop

# Stash only staged changes
git stash push --staged -m "Only staged changes"

# Stash everything except specific file
git stash push -m "Everything but config" -- . ":(exclude)config.json"

SSH Configuration

Generate SSH Key

bash

# Generate RSA key (4096 bits recommended)
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com"

# Generate Ed25519 key (modern, more secure)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"

# Specify custom file location
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github -C "your_email@example.com"

Add SSH Key to Agent

Linux/Mac:

bash

# Start SSH agent
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

# Add key to agent
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

# Add key with custom location
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github

Windows (PowerShell):

powershell

# Start SSH agent service
Start-Service ssh-agent

# Add key to agent
ssh-add C:\Users\YourName\.ssh\id_ed25519

Add SSH Key to GitHub

bash

# Copy public key to clipboard (Linux)
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | xclip -selection clipboard

# Copy public key to clipboard (Mac)
pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

# Copy public key to clipboard (Windows PowerShell)
Get-Content ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | clip

# Or just display it
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Then:

Go to GitHub Settings → SSH and GPG keys
Click "New SSH key"
Paste your public key
Give it a descriptive title

Test SSH Connection

bash

# Test GitHub connection
ssh -T git@github.com

# Test GitLab connection
ssh -T git@gitlab.com

# Test with verbose output
ssh -vT git@github.com

Multiple SSH Keys

Create ~/.ssh/config:

# GitHub account
Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github

# Work GitHub account
Host github-work
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work

# GitLab account
Host gitlab.com
    HostName gitlab.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_gitlab

Usage:

bash

# Clone using default github.com config
git clone git@github.com:user/repo.git

# Clone using work config
git clone git@github-work:company/repo.git

Common Git Commands

Repository Setup

bash

# Initialize repository
git init

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

# Clone with SSH
git clone git@github.com:user/repo.git

# Clone specific branch
git clone -b develop https://github.com/user/repo.git

Basic Workflow

bash

# Check status
git status

# Add files
git add file.txt
git add .
git add -A

# Commit
git commit -m "Commit message"

# Commit with detailed message
git commit -m "Short description" -m "Detailed explanation"

# Amend last commit
git commit --amend

# Push to remote
git push origin main

# Pull from remote
git pull origin main

Branching

bash

# List branches
git branch
git branch -a  # Include remote branches

# Create branch
git branch feature-name

# Switch branch
git checkout feature-name
git switch feature-name  # Modern syntax

# Create and switch
git checkout -b feature-name
git switch -c feature-name  # Modern syntax

# Delete branch
git branch -d feature-name
git branch -D feature-name  # Force delete

# Rename branch
git branch -m old-name new-name

Merging and Rebasing

bash

# Merge branch into current
git merge feature-name

# Merge with no fast-forward
git merge --no-ff feature-name

# Rebase current branch onto main
git rebase main

# Interactive rebase (last 3 commits)
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# Abort merge/rebase
git merge --abort
git rebase --abort

Remote Management

bash

# List remotes
git remote -v

# Add remote
git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git

# Change remote URL (HTTPS to SSH)
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:user/repo.git

# Remove remote
git remote remove origin

# Fetch from remote
git fetch origin

# Prune deleted remote branches
git fetch --prune

Viewing History

bash

# View commit history
git log

# Compact log
git log --oneline

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

# Show commits by author
git log --author="John"

# Show commits in date range
git log --since="2 weeks ago"

# Show changes in commit
git show <commit-hash>

# Show file history
git log -p file.txt

Undoing Changes

bash

# Discard changes in working directory
git checkout -- file.txt
git restore file.txt  # Modern syntax

# Unstage file
git reset HEAD file.txt
git restore --staged file.txt  # Modern syntax

# Undo last commit (keep changes)
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Undo last commit (discard changes)
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# Revert commit (create new commit)
git revert <commit-hash>

Advanced Operations

Cherry Pick

bash

# Apply commit from another branch
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

# Cherry pick multiple commits
git cherry-pick <commit1> <commit2>

# Cherry pick without committing
git cherry-pick -n <commit-hash>

Searching

bash

# Search in files
git grep "search term"

# Search in specific file type
git grep "search term" -- "*.js"

# Search commit messages
git log --grep="bug fix"

# Find when line was changed
git blame file.txt

Cleaning

bash

# Remove untracked files (dry run)
git clean -n

# Remove untracked files
git clean -f

# Remove untracked files and directories
git clean -fd

# Remove ignored files too
git clean -fdx

Submodules

bash

# Add submodule
git submodule add https://github.com/user/repo.git path/to/submodule

# Clone repository with submodules
git clone --recursive https://github.com/user/repo.git

# Initialize submodules after clone
git submodule init
git submodule update

# Update all submodules
git submodule update --remote

# Remove submodule
git submodule deinit path/to/submodule
git rm path/to/submodule

Configuration

User Settings

bash

# Set username globally
git config --global user.name "Your Name"

# Set email globally
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

# Set for specific repository
git config user.name "Work Name"
git config user.email "work@example.com"

Aliases

bash

# Create aliases
git config --global alias.st status
git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.br branch
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.unstage 'reset HEAD --'
git config --global alias.last 'log -1 HEAD'
git config --global alias.graph 'log --graph --oneline --all'

# Use aliases
git st
git graph

Other Settings

bash

# Set default editor
git config --global core.editor "code --wait"

# Set default branch name
git config --global init.defaultBranch main

# Enable color output
git config --global color.ui auto

# Line ending handling (Windows)
git config --global core.autocrlf true

# Line ending handling (Linux/Mac)
git config --global core.autocrlf input

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Merge Conflicts:

bash

# View conflicted files
git status

# After resolving conflicts
git add resolved-file.txt
git commit

Detached HEAD:

bash

# Create branch from detached state
git checkout -b new-branch-name

Wrong Commit Message:

bash

# Amend last commit message
git commit --amend -m "Corrected message"

Pushed Wrong Code:

bash

# Revert commit (safe, creates new commit)
git revert <commit-hash>
git push

# Force push (dangerous, use with caution)
git reset --hard <commit-hash>
git push --force

Git Commands

Stash Operations

Quick Reference

Basic Stash Commands

Stash Specific Files

Applying Stashes

Managing Stashes

Stash Examples

SSH Configuration

Generate SSH Key

Add SSH Key to Agent

Add SSH Key to GitHub

Test SSH Connection

Multiple SSH Keys

Common Git Commands

Repository Setup

Basic Workflow

Branching

Merging and Rebasing

Remote Management

Viewing History

Undoing Changes

Tags

Advanced Operations

Cherry Pick

Searching

Cleaning

Submodules

Configuration

User Settings

Aliases

Other Settings

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

See Also

External Resources

Git Commands ​

Stash Operations ​

Quick Reference ​

Basic Stash Commands ​

Stash Specific Files ​

Applying Stashes ​

Managing Stashes ​

Stash Examples ​

SSH Configuration ​

Generate SSH Key ​

Add SSH Key to Agent ​

Add SSH Key to GitHub ​

Test SSH Connection ​

Multiple SSH Keys ​

Common Git Commands ​

Repository Setup ​

Basic Workflow ​

Branching ​

Merging and Rebasing ​

Remote Management ​

Viewing History ​

Undoing Changes ​

Tags ​

Advanced Operations ​

Cherry Pick ​

Searching ​

Cleaning ​

Submodules ​

Configuration ​

User Settings ​

Aliases ​

Other Settings ​

Troubleshooting ​

Common Issues ​

See Also ​

External Resources ​

Git Commands

Stash Operations

Quick Reference

Basic Stash Commands

Stash Specific Files

Applying Stashes

Managing Stashes

Stash Examples

SSH Configuration

Generate SSH Key

Add SSH Key to Agent

Add SSH Key to GitHub

Test SSH Connection

Multiple SSH Keys

Common Git Commands

Repository Setup

Basic Workflow

Branching

Merging and Rebasing

Remote Management

Viewing History

Undoing Changes

Tags

Advanced Operations

Cherry Pick

Searching

Cleaning

Submodules

Configuration

User Settings

Aliases

Other Settings

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

See Also

External Resources