Git and GitHub Cheat Sheet - Beginner to Pro

Setup & Configuration
Basic Commands
Branching
Merging
Rebasing
Remote Operations
Stashing
Tagging
Undoing Changes
Git Log & History
GitHub Specific
Advanced Topics
Best Practices

Setup & Configuration

Initial Setup

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

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

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

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

# View all config
git config --list

# View specific config
git config user.name

# Edit config file
git config --global --edit

SSH Setup

# Generate SSH key
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your@email.com"

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

# Add SSH key
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

# Copy public key
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

# Test connection
ssh -T git@github.com

Basic Commands

Repository Initialization

# Initialize new repository
git init

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

# Clone to specific directory
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git my-project

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

# Shallow clone (last commit only)
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/user/repo.git

Basic Workflow

# Check status
git status

# Short status
git status -s

# Add files to staging
git add file.txt
git add .
git add *.js

# Add all changes
git add -A

# Add specific parts interactively
git add -p

# Commit changes
git commit -m "Commit message"

# Commit with description
git commit -m "Title" -m "Description"

# Add and commit
git commit -am "Message"

# Amend last commit
git commit --amend

# Push changes
git push

# Pull changes
git pull

# Fetch changes
git fetch

Branching

Branch Operations

# List branches
git branch

# List all branches (including remote)
git branch -a

# List remote branches
git branch -r

# Create new branch
git branch feature-name

# Switch to branch
git checkout feature-name
git switch feature-name

# Create and switch to branch
git checkout -b feature-name
git switch -c feature-name

# Create branch from specific commit
git branch feature-name abc123

# Rename current branch
git branch -m new-name

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

# Delete branch
git branch -d feature-name

# Force delete branch
git branch -D feature-name

# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete feature-name

# View branch with last commit
git branch -v

# View merged branches
git branch --merged

# View unmerged branches
git branch --no-merged

Merging

Merge Operations

# Merge branch into current
git merge feature-name

# Merge with commit message
git merge feature-name -m "Merge message"

# No fast-forward merge
git merge --no-ff feature-name

# Squash merge
git merge --squash feature-name

# Abort merge
git merge --abort

# Continue merge after conflict resolution
git merge --continue

Conflict Resolution

# View conflicts
git status

# View conflict in file
git diff

# Choose theirs for conflict
git checkout --theirs file.txt

# Choose ours for conflict
git checkout --ours file.txt

# Mark conflict as resolved
git add file.txt

# Continue merge
git commit

Rebasing

Rebase Operations

# Rebase current branch onto main
git rebase main

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

# Continue rebase
git rebase --continue

# Skip current commit
git rebase --skip

# Abort rebase
git rebase --abort

# Rebase onto specific commit
git rebase abc123

Interactive Rebase

# Start interactive rebase
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# Commands in interactive rebase:
# pick = use commit
# reword = use commit, but edit message
# edit = use commit, but stop for amending
# squash = use commit, but meld into previous
# fixup = like squash, but discard message
# drop = remove commit

# Example:
pick abc123 First commit
squash def456 Second commit
reword ghi789 Third commit

Remote Operations

Remote Management

# List remotes
git remote

# List remotes with URLs
git remote -v

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

# Change remote URL
git remote set-url origin https://github.com/user/new-repo.git

# Remove remote
git remote remove origin

# Rename remote
git remote rename origin upstream

# View remote info
git remote show origin

Push & Pull

# Push to remote
git push origin main

# Push and set upstream
git push -u origin main

# Push all branches
git push --all

# Push tags
git push --tags

# Force push
git push --force

# Force push safely
git push --force-with-lease

# Pull from remote
git pull origin main

# Pull with rebase
git pull --rebase

# Fetch all remotes
git fetch --all

# Fetch and prune
git fetch --prune

Stashing

Stash Operations

# Stash changes
git stash

# Stash with message
git stash save "Work in progress"

# Stash including untracked files
git stash -u

# Stash everything including ignored files
git stash -a

# List stashes
git stash list

# Show stash content
git stash show
git stash show -p

# Apply stash
git stash apply

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

# Apply and remove stash
git stash pop

# Remove stash
git stash drop

# Remove specific stash
git stash drop stash@{2}

# Clear all stashes
git stash clear

# Create branch from stash
git stash branch feature-name

Tagging

Tag Operations

# List tags
git tag

# List tags with pattern
git tag -l "v1.*"

# Create lightweight tag
git tag v1.0.0

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

# Tag specific commit
git tag -a v1.0.0 abc123

# Push tag
git push origin v1.0.0

# Push all tags
git push --tags

# Delete local tag
git tag -d v1.0.0

# Delete remote tag
git push origin --delete v1.0.0

# Checkout tag
git checkout v1.0.0

# View tag info
git show v1.0.0

Undoing Changes

Discard Changes

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

# Discard all changes
git checkout -- .
git restore .

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

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

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

# Reset to specific commit
git reset --hard abc123

# Revert commit (create new commit)
git revert abc123

# Revert merge commit
git revert -m 1 abc123

Reset vs Revert

# Reset (changes history)
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# Soft reset (keep changes staged)
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Mixed reset (keep changes unstaged)
git reset HEAD~1

# Revert (creates new commit)
git revert HEAD

# Revert without commit
git revert -n HEAD

Git Log & History

Viewing History

# View commit history
git log

# One line per commit
git log --oneline

# Graph view
git log --graph

# Pretty format
git log --graph --oneline --decorate --all

# Last n commits
git log -5

# Commits by author
git log --author="John"

# Commits in date range
git log --since="2 weeks ago"
git log --after="2024-01-01" --before="2024-12-31"

# Commits with specific message
git log --grep="fix"

# Commits that changed specific file
git log file.txt

# Show changes in commits
git log -p

# Show stats
git log --stat

# Show specific commit
git show abc123

# Show file at specific commit
git show abc123:file.txt

Searching History

# Search for string in commits
git log -S "function_name"

# Search with regex
git log -G "regex_pattern"

# Find who changed line
git blame file.txt

# Blame specific lines
git blame -L 10,20 file.txt

GitHub Specific

GitHub CLI

# Install GitHub CLI
# Windows: winget install GitHub.cli
# Mac: brew install gh
# Linux: sudo apt install gh

# Login
gh auth login

# Create repository
gh repo create my-repo --public

# Clone repository
gh repo clone user/repo

# View repository
gh repo view

# Create pull request
gh pr create

# List pull requests
gh pr list

# View pull request
gh pr view 123

# Merge pull request
gh pr merge 123

# Create issue
gh issue create

# List issues
gh issue list

# View issue
gh issue view 123

Pull Requests

# Create PR branch
git checkout -b feature-name

# Push branch
git push -u origin feature-name

# Update PR
git push origin feature-name

# Sync with main
git checkout main
git pull
git checkout feature-name
git merge main

# Or with rebase
git checkout feature-name
git rebase main
git push --force-with-lease

Forking Workflow

# Fork repository on GitHub

# Clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/repo.git

# Add upstream remote
git remote add upstream https://github.com/original/repo.git

# Sync with upstream
git fetch upstream
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature-name

# Push to your fork
git push origin feature-name

# Create pull request on GitHub

Advanced Topics

Cherry Pick

# Apply specific commit
git cherry-pick abc123

# Cherry pick without commit
git cherry-pick -n abc123

# Cherry pick range
git cherry-pick abc123..def456

# Abort cherry pick
git cherry-pick --abort

Submodules

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

# Initialize submodules
git submodule init

# Update submodules
git submodule update

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

# Update all submodules
git submodule update --remote

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

Bisect (Find Bug)

# Start bisect
git bisect start

# Mark current as bad
git bisect bad

# Mark old commit as good
git bisect good abc123

# Test and mark
git bisect good  # or bad

# Automated bisect
git bisect run test.sh

# End bisect
git bisect reset

Worktrees

# Create worktree
git worktree add ../hotfix hotfix-branch

# List worktrees
git worktree list

# Remove worktree
git worktree remove ../hotfix

# Prune worktrees
git worktree prune

Reflog

# View reflog
git reflog

# Recover lost commit
git reflog
git checkout abc123

# Recover deleted branch
git reflog
git checkout -b recovered-branch abc123

Best Practices

Commit Messages

# ✅ Good: Clear, descriptive commit message
git commit -m "Add user authentication feature"
git commit -m "Fix: Resolve login redirect issue"
git commit -m "Refactor: Simplify database query logic"

# ❌ Bad: Vague commit message
git commit -m "Update"
git commit -m "Fix bug"
git commit -m "Changes"

# ✅ Good: Conventional commits
git commit -m "feat: Add user registration"
git commit -m "fix: Resolve memory leak in API"
git commit -m "docs: Update README with setup instructions"
git commit -m "style: Format code according to style guide"
git commit -m "refactor: Restructure authentication module"
git commit -m "test: Add unit tests for user service"
git commit -m "chore: Update dependencies"

Branch Naming

# ✅ Good: Descriptive branch names
feature/user-authentication
bugfix/login-redirect
hotfix/security-patch
release/v1.2.0

# ❌ Bad: Vague branch names
feature1
fix
update

Workflow Tips

# ✅ Good: Commit often, push regularly
git add .
git commit -m "Add feature X"
git push

# ✅ Good: Keep commits atomic
# Each commit should represent one logical change

# ✅ Good: Pull before push
git pull --rebase
git push

# ✅ Good: Use .gitignore
node_modules/
.env
.DS_Store
*.log

# ✅ Good: Review changes before commit
git diff
git status
git commit

# ✅ Good: Use branches for features
git checkout -b feature/new-feature
# ... work on feature
git push -u origin feature/new-feature

# ✅ Good: Keep main/master stable
# Always work on feature branches
# Merge only tested code

# ✅ Good: Clean up branches
git branch -d feature/completed
git push origin --delete feature/completed

Security

# ✅ Never commit sensitive data
# Add to .gitignore:
.env
secrets.json
*.key
*.pem

# ❌ If already committed
git filter-branch --force --index-filter \
  "git rm --cached --ignore-unmatch secrets.json" \
  --prune-empty --tag-name-filter cat -- --all

# Better: Use BFG Repo-Cleaner
bfg --delete-files secrets.json
git reflog expire --expire=now --all
git gc --prune=now --aggressive

Pro Tip: Write clear commit messages using conventional commits format, use feature branches for all new work, rebase instead of merge for cleaner history, and always review changes before committing with git diff and git status!

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