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Command System

Learn Git Branching provides an interactive command-line interface that simulates Git operations in a visual environment. The application supports multiple command types to help you learn and practice Git concepts.

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Command Categories

The command system is organized into several categories:

Git Commands

Standard Git commands for version control operations

Mercurial Commands

Mercurial (hg) command support with Git translation

Special Commands

Learning-specific commands for levels and navigation

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Command Processing

Commands go through a multi-stage processing pipeline:

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1. Shortcut Expansion

Shortcuts are expanded first to their full command equivalents:
  • gc → git commit
  • go → git checkout
  • gb → git branch
  • gr → git rebase
  • gst, gs → git status

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2. Instant Commands

Some commands execute immediately without parsing:
  • git help - Display help information
  • show commands - List all available commands
  • show solution - Display the level solution
  • flip - Flip the tree visualization

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3. Regular Parsing

Commands are parsed using regex patterns to:
  • Identify the command type (git, hg, sandbox, level)
  • Extract options and flags (e.g., --amend, -b)
  • Parse arguments and validate syntax

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4. Command Execution

After parsing, commands are executed through:
  • Direct execution for Git/Mercurial operations
  • Delegation for commands that translate to other commands
  • Animation queue for visual updates

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Command Format

All commands follow standard Unix command-line conventions: 
<command> [options] [arguments]

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Options

Options modify command behavior: 
git commit --amend          # Long option
git branch -d feature       # Short option
git checkout -b new-branch  # Option with argument

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Arguments

Arguments specify what to operate on: 
git checkout main           # Branch name argument
git merge feature           # Branch to merge
git cherry-pick C1 C2 C3    # Multiple commit arguments

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Golf Scoring

Some commands are excluded from “Golf Mode” scoring:
  • git status - Informational only
  • git log - Viewing history
  • git show - Inspecting commits
  • git add - Staging simulation
  • git rev-list - Internal use
These commands marked with dontCountForGolf: true don’t count toward your move count in levels.

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Error Handling

The command system provides helpful error messages:
  • GitError - Git-specific errors (e.g., branch doesn’t exist)
  • CommandProcessError - Parsing or syntax errors
  • CommandResult - Informational messages
  • Warning - Non-fatal warnings

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Command Reference Syntax

In this documentation:
  • <required> - Required argument
  • [optional] - Optional argument
  • | - Alternative options
  • ... - Can be repeated

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Getting Help

Use these commands to learn more: 
git help               # Show Git command help
help                   # General help
show commands          # List all commands with options
show solution          # See level solution

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Next Steps

Git Commands

Learn all supported Git commands

Mercurial Commands

Use Mercurial instead of Git

Special Commands

Navigate levels and control the app

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