Github basic/cheat sheet

Git for All Platforms

Configure tooling
Configure user information for all local repositories

$ git config --global user.name "[name]"

Sets the name you want attached to your commit transactions

$ git config --global user.email "[email address]"

Sets the email you want attached to your commit transactions

$ git config --global color.ui auto

Enables helpful colorization of command line output



BranchesBranches are an important part of working with Git. Any commits you make will be made on the branch you’re currently “checked out” to. Use git status to see which branch that is.

$ git branch [branch-name]

Creates a new branch

$ git checkout [branch-name]

Switches to the specified branch and updates the working directory

$ git merge [branch]

Combines the specified branch’s history into the current branch. This is usually done in pull requests, but is an important Git operation.

$ git branch -d [branch-name]

Deletes the specified branch

When starting out with a new repository, you only need to do it once; either locally, then push to GitHub, or by cloning an existing repository.

$ git init

After using the git init command, link the local repository to an empty GitHub repository using the following command:

$ git remote add origin [url]

Turn an existing directory into a Git repository

$ git clone [url]

Clone (download) a repository that already exists on GitHub, including all of the files, branches, and commits



The .gitignore fileSometimes it may be a good idea to exclude files from being tracked with Git. This is typically done in a special file named .gitignore. You can find helpful templates for .gitignore files at .



Synchronize changesSynchronize your local repository with the remote repository on GitHub.com

$ git fetch

Downloads all history from the remote tracking branches

$ git merge

Combines remote tracking branches into current local branch

$ git push

Uploads all local branch commits to GitHub

$ git pull

Updates your current local working branch with all new commits from the corresponding remote branch on GitHub. git pull is a combination of git fetch and git merge

Browse and inspect the evolution of project files

$ git log

Lists version history for the current branch

$ git log --follow [file]

Lists version history for a file, including renames

$ git diff [first-branch]...[second-branch]

Shows content differences between two branches

$ git show [commit]

Outputs metadata and content changes of the specified commit

$ git add [file]

Snapshots the file in preparation for versioning

$ git commit -m "[descriptive message]"

Records file snapshots permanently in version history



Redo commitsErase mistakes and craft replacement history

$ git reset [commit]

Undoes all commits after [commit], preserving changes locally

$ git reset --hard [commit]

Discards all history and changes back to the specified commit

CAUTION! Changing history can have nasty side effects. If you need to change commits that exist on GitHub (the remote), proceed with caution. If you need help, reach out at github.community or contact support.

Glossary
git: an open source, distributed version-control system

GitHub: a platform for hosting and collaborating on Git repositories

commit: a Git object, a snapshot of your entire repository compressed into a SHA

branch: a lightweight movable pointer to a commit

clone: a local version of a repository, including all commits and branches

remote: a common repository on GitHub that all team members use to exchange their changes

fork: a copy of a repository on GitHub owned by a different user

pull request: a place to compare and discuss the differences introduced on a branch with reviews, comments, integrated tests, and more

HEAD: representing your current working directory, the HEAD pointer can be moved to different branches, tags, or commits when using git checkout

good thing