Git Guide

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Why Use Git?

• Version Control: Track every change made to your codebase
• Collaboration: Work with teams without conflicts
• Branching: Experiment with features in isolated environments
• History: Review and revert changes when needed
• Backup: Distributed nature means multiple copies of your code

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Getting Started with Git

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Basic Git Workflow

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Creating a Repository

# Initialize a new repository
git init

# Or clone an existing repository
git clone [email protected]:username/repository.git

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Making Changes

# Check status of your files
git status

# Add files to staging area
git add filename.txt
# Or add all changes
git add .

# Commit changes with a message
git commit -m "Add new feature"

# Push to remote repository
git push origin main

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Viewing History

# View commit history
git log

# View condensed history
git log --oneline

# View changes in a commit
git show <commit_hash>

# View changes to files
git diff

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Branching and Merging

# Create a new branch
git branch feature-name

# Switch to the branch
git checkout feature-name
# Or create and switch in one command
git checkout -b feature-name

# List all branches
git branch

# Merge a branch into current branch
git merge feature-name

# Delete a branch
git branch -d feature-name

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Working with Remote Repositories

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Syncing Changes

# Fetch changes from remote
git fetch origin

# Pull changes and merge
git pull origin main

# Push your changes
git push origin main

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Managing Remotes

# View remote repositories
git remote -v

# Add a remote repository
git remote add upstream [email protected]:original/repository.git

# Remove a remote
git remote remove upstream

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GitHub Workflows

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SSH Authentication

• Clone repositories using SSH URLs
• Push and pull without entering passwords
• Securely authenticate with GitHub

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Pull Requests

1. Create a feature branch
2. Make and commit your changes
3. Push the branch to GitHub
4. Open a pull request on GitHub
5. Review and discuss changes
6. Merge when approved

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Best Practices

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Commit Messages

• Write clear, descriptive commit messages
• Use present tense (“Add feature” not “Added feature”)
• Keep the first line under 50 characters
• Add detailed description if needed

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Branching Strategy

• Keep main branch stable and deployable
• Create feature branches for new work
• Use descriptive branch names (e.g., feature/user-authentication)
• Delete branches after merging

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Regular Commits

• Commit logical units of work
• Commit early and often
• Don’t commit sensitive information (passwords, API keys)
• Use .gitignore to exclude unnecessary files

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Common Operations

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Undoing Changes

# Discard changes in working directory
git checkout -- filename.txt

# Unstage a file
git reset HEAD filename.txt

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

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

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Stashing Changes

# Save changes temporarily
git stash

# List stashed changes
git stash list

# Apply stashed changes
git stash apply

# Apply and remove from stash
git stash pop

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Tagging Releases

# Create a tag
git tag v1.0.0

# Create annotated tag
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"

# Push tags to remote
git push --tags

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Troubleshooting

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Merge Conflicts

1. Git marks conflicted files
2. Open files and resolve conflicts manually
3. Remove conflict markers (<<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>)
4. Stage resolved files with git add
5. Complete merge with git commit

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Reset vs Revert

• git reset: Moves branch pointer (rewrites history)
• git revert: Creates new commit that undoes changes (preserves history)

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Next Steps

• Advanced branching strategies (Git Flow, GitHub Flow)
• Rebasing for cleaner history
• Git hooks for automation
• Submodules for managing dependencies
• Git LFS for large files

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Related Resources