Github Basics

If you want to be a developer then you should get used to git. Here are a few basic commands to get you started.

Current State

git status list which (unstaged) files have changed git diff list (unstaged) changes to files git log list recent commits

Adding Files to Repo

git add fn stage file git commit -m 'message' commit file git commit -am 'message' add/commit all changes from all tracked files (no untracked files) in one go

Undoing Previous Actions

git reset filename unstage file git commit --amend -m 'message' alter the last commit (add any staged files, new comment) git reset --soft HEAD^ undo the previous commit, put changes in staging git reset --hard HEAD^ Undo last commit and all changes git reset --hard HEAD^^ Undo two (^^) last commits and all changes git checkout -- cats.html index.html Undo all changes that were made to files cats.html and index.html git rebase --onto <commit-id>\^ <commit-id> HEAD remove specific commit from the repository. the \ in ^ is just an escape char to make zsh play nice and is not necessary if using bash.

Remote Repositories

git remote add origin [e-mail]:example/petshop.git add a remote repository git push -u origin master push current local repo to remote. -u sets it to default for the future git remote -v show show the available remote repositories that have been added git pull checkout and merge remote changes in one go git fetch origin update the local cache of the remote repository git remote -v update bring remote refs up to date (and -v show which branches were updated) git status -uno will tell you whether the branch you are tracking is ahead, behind or has diverged. If it says nothing, the local and remote are the same. git show-branch *master will show you the commits in all of the branches whose names end in master (eg master and origin/master). git show remote origin show local<->remote branch tracking and sync status

Examine Changes on Remote, Without Pulling Them

git fetch origin git log HEAD..origin/master --oneline shows commit messages git diff HEAD..origin/master shows all changes on remote compared to local HEAD

Branches

git branch list currently existing branches git branch [branchname] create new branch git checkout branchname move to that branch git checkout -b branchname create and check out new branch in one go git branch -d branchname remove branch

merging a branch back to master

git checkout master; git merge branchname; conditions for fast-forwarding merge - nothing new on master between branch start/end points

Branches on Remote

git fetch origin``git branch -r list remote branches (after a fetch) git push origin :branchname delete remote branch 'branchname' git remote prune origin clean up deleted remote branches (let's say someone else deleted a branch on the remote) git show remote origin show local<->remote branch tracking and sync status (duplicate info under "remote repositories")

push local branch to differently named remote branch. Eg Heroku only deploys master

git push heroku yourbranch:master simple form git push heroku-staging staging:master (localBranchName:remoteBranchName)

Tagging

git tag list all tags git checkout v0.0.1 checkout code git tag -a v0.0.3 -m 'Version 0.0.3' add new tag git push --tags push new tags to remote

Dealing With Large Files — Keep them outside the repo on an ssh machine.

git annex add mybigfile git commit -m 'add mybigfile' git push myremote git annex copy --to myremote mybigfile this command copies the actual content to my remote git annex drop mybigfile remove content from local repo git annex get mybigfile retrieve the content git annex copy --from myremote mybigfilespecify the remote from which to get the file

Cheat Sheet

Command	Usage
git init	Creates an empty Git repository in the specified directory.
git clone <repository name>	Clones a repository located at <repository name> onto your local machine.
git add <directory>	Stages only the specified changes for the next commit. Replace <directory> with a <file> to change a specific file.
git add .	Stages new files and modifications without deletions
git add -A	Stages all changes
git add -all	Equivalent to git add -A
git add -u	Stages modifications and deletions without adding new files
git add --update	Equivalent to git add -u
git commit -m ”<message>”	Commits the staged snapshot. replace <message> with the commit message.
git status	List which files are staged unstaged and untracked.
git log	Displays the entire commit history using the default format.
git diff	Shows unstaged changes between your index and working directory.
git pull	Fetchs the remote copy of the current branch.
git pull --rebase <remote>	Fetchs the remote copy of current branch and rebases it into the local copy. Use git rebase instead of merge to integrate the branches.
git push origin master	Push all of your commits to master branch.
git push <remote> --all	Push all of your local branches to the specified remote.
git push <remote> --tags	Tags aren’t automatically pushed when you push a branch or use the --all flag. The --tags flag sends all of your local tags to the remote repo.
git push <remote> --force	Forces the git push even if it results in a non-fast-forward merge. Do not use the --force flag unless you’re absolutely sure you know what you’re doing.
git revert <commit>	Creates new commit that undoes all of the changes made in <commit> and then applys it to the current branch.
git reset <file>	Removes <file> from the staging area but leaves the working directory unchanged - This unstages a file without overwriting any changes.
git clean -n	Shows which files would be removed from working directory. Use the -f flag in place of the -n flag to execute the clean.
git commit --amend	Replaces the last commit with the staged changes and last commit combined. Use with nothing staged to edit the last commit’s message.
git rebase <base>	Rebase the current branch onto <base>. <base> can be a commit ID a branch name a tag or a relative reference to HEAD.
git reflog	Show a log of changes to the local repository’s HEAD. Add --relative-date flag to show date info or --all to show all refs.
git branch	Lists all of the branches in your repo.
git branch <branch name>	Creates a new branch with the name <branch name>.
git checkout -b <branch name>	Creates and check out a new branch named <branch name>.
git checkout <branch name>	Checkout an existing branch.
git merge <branch>	Merge <branch> into the current branch.
git remote add <name> <url>	Creates a new connecti
git log --stat	Include which files were altered and the relative number of lineson to a remote repo. After adding a remote you can use <name> as a shortcut for <url> in other commands.
git fetch <remote> <branch>	Fetches a specific <branch> from the repo. Leave off <branch> to fetch all remote refs.
git pull <remote>	Fetches the specified remote’s copy of current branch and immediately merge it into the local copy.
git push <remote> <branch>	Pushes the branch to <remote> along with necessary commits and objects. Creates named branch in the remote repo if it doesn’t exist.
git config --global user.name <name>	Defines the author name to be used for all commits by the current user.
git config --global user.email <email>	Defines the author email to be used for all commits by the current user.
git config --global alias. <alias-name> <git-command>	Creates shortcut for a Git command. E.g. alias.p push will set git p equivalent to git push.
git config --system core.editor <editor>	Set text editor used by commands for all users on the machine. <editor> arg should be the command that launches the desired editor (e.g; vi).
git config --global --edit	Opens the global configuration file in a text editor for manual editing.
git log -<limit>	Limits the number of git rebase -i E.g. git log -5 will limit to 5 commits.
git log --oneline	Condenses each commit to a single line.
git log -p	Displays the full diff of each commit.
git log --stat	Include which files were altered and the relative number of lines that were added or deleted from each of them.
git log --author= ”<pattern>”	Searchs for commits by a particular author.
git log --grep=”<pattern>”	Searchs for commits with a commit message that matches <pattern>.
git log <since>..<until>	Shows commits that occur between <since> and <until>. Args can be a any kind of revision reference.
git log -- <file>	Only display commits that have the specified file.
git log --graph --decorate	--graph flag draws a text based graph of commits on left side of commit msgs. --decorate adds names of branches or tags of commits shown.
git diff HEAD	Shows difference between working directory and last commit.
git diff --cached	Shows difference between staged changes and last commit
git reset	Resets the staging area to match most recent commit but leaves the working directory unchanged.
git reset --hard	Resets the staging area and working directory to match most recent commit and overwrites all changes in the working directory.
git reset <commit>	Moves the current branch tip backward to <commit> resets the staging area to match but leaves the working directory unchanged.
git reset --hard <commit>	Same as previous but resets both the staging area & working directory to match. Deletes uncommitted changes and all commits after <commit>.
git rebase -i <base>	Interactively rebase current branch onto <base>. Launches editor to enter commands for how each commit will be transferred to the new base.