Top 100 Git Commands

Hello and welcome to the ultimate guide on Git commands! Git is now a must-have tool for developers worldwide. For both new and experienced developers, understanding Git commands makes version control easy.

So here in this article, we’ll discuss the 100 must know Git commands to ease your coding journey. Let’s get started!

Before we jump into the commands, let’s set up the basics. Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in your code. It’s a must-have for collaborative projects.

1. git init

Imagine you have a folder full of files and you want to start tracking their changes. This is where git init comes into play. Run this command in your project directory, and Git will set up a new repository for you.

git init

2. git clone

Found a project on GitHub that you want to work on? Use git clone to copy the repository to your local machine.

git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

3. git add

Before committing changes, you need to add them to the staging area. This is done with git add. You can add specific files or use . to add everything.

git add file.txt
git add .

4. git commit

Committing is like saving a snapshot of your project. The -m flag lets you add a message describing what you’ve done.

git commit -m "Initial commit"

5. git status

Not sure what’s going on in your repo? git status will tell you. It shows which files are staged, unstaged, and untracked.

git status

6. git log

Want to see your project’s history? git log shows a list of all the commits made.

git log

7. git branch

Branches are like parallel universes for your project. Use git branch to see all branches or create new ones.

git branch
git branch new-branch

8. git checkout

Switch between branches or revert files with git checkout.

git checkout new-branch
git checkout file.txt

9. git merge

Merging combines changes from different branches. It’s how you bring your work together.

git merge new-branch

10. git pull

git pull fetches changes from a remote repository and merges them into your current branch.

git pull origin main

11. git push

Ready to share your changes? git push sends them to a remote repository.

git push origin main

12. git remote

Manage the remote connections with git remote. You can add, remove, and view remotes.

git remote -v
git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git

13. git fetch

Unlike git pull, git fetch only downloads changes without merging them.

git fetch origin

14. git diff

See differences between commits or your working directory with git diff.

git diff

15. git reset

Need to undo some changes? git reset can help. It can be a bit tricky, so use it carefully.

git reset --hard HEAD

16. git rebase

Rebasing is another way to integrate changes. It moves or combines a sequence of commits.

git rebase main

17. git stash

Stash your changes temporarily if you need to switch branches without committing.

git stash

18. git stash apply

Retrieve your stashed changes with git stash apply.

git stash apply

19. git tag

Tags are great for marking specific points in your history as important.

git tag v1.0

20. git show

Show details about commits, tags, or other Git objects.

git show v1.0

21. git ls-files

List all files in the repository.

git ls-files

22. git rm

Remove files from the repository.

git rm file.txt

23. git mv

Move or rename files.

git mv oldname.txt newname.txt

24. git blame

Find out who made changes to a file.

git blame file.txt

25. git bisect

Use binary search to find the commit that introduced a bug.

git bisect start
git bisect bad
git bisect good

26. git grep

Search for text in tracked files.

git grep "search-term"

27. git reflog

Manage the reference logs, or reflogs, to see changes in the tip of branches.

git reflog

28. git shortlog

Summarize git log output.

git shortlog

29. git config

Customize Git settings.

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

30. git clean

Clean the working directory by removing untracked files.

git clean -f

31. git archive

Create an archive of files from a named tree.

git archive --format=tar HEAD | tar -x -C /path/to/extract

32. git cherry-pick

Apply the changes from a specific commit.

git cherry-pick commit-hash

33. git describe

Give a human-readable name to a commit.

git describe

34. git diff –staged

Show differences between the staging area and the last commit.

git diff --staged

35. git log –oneline

Condense the log output to one line per commit.

git log --oneline

36. git log –graph

Visualize the branch structure with a graph.

git log --graph

37. git rebase –interactive

Rebase with an interactive interface to edit commits.

git rebase -i HEAD~3

38. git reset –soft

Reset the current branch to a specific commit, but keep changes staged.

git reset --soft HEAD~1

39. git reset –mixed

Reset the current branch to a specific commit, but keep changes unstaged.

git reset --mixed HEAD~1

40. git show-branch

Show branches and their commits.

git show-branch

41. git whatchanged

Show logs with differences introduced in each commit.

git whatchanged

42. git help

Get help for any Git command.

git help <command>

43. git instaweb

Instantly browse your working repository in a web browser.

git instaweb

44. git verify-pack

Validate packed Git archive files.

git verify-pack -v pack-file

45. git fsck

Check the filesystem for integrity.

git fsck

46. git gc

Clean up unnecessary files and optimize the local repository.

git gc

47. git prune

Remove unreachable objects from the database.

git prune

48. git commit –amend

Amend the last commit.

git commit --amend

49. git blame -L

Limit the output to a specific range of lines.

git blame -L 10,20 file.txt

50. git fetch –all

Fetch all remotes.

git fetch --all

51. git submodule

Initialize, update, or inspect submodules.

git submodule add https://github.com/user/repo.git
git submodule update --init --recursive

52. git rev-parse

Parse revision (or other objects).

git rev-parse HEAD

53. git tag -a

Create an annotated tag.

git tag -a v1.0 -m "Version 1.0"

54. git archive –prefix

Create a tar or zip archive of the repository with a specific prefix.

git archive --format=zip --prefix=project/ HEAD > project.zip

55. git cherry

Find commits that are in one branch but not another.

git cherry

56. git diff –cached

Show changes between the index and a named commit.

git diff --cached

57. git diff HEAD

Show changes between the working directory and the latest commit.

git diff HEAD

58. git gc –aggressive

Perform an aggressive garbage collection.

git gc --aggressive

59. git grep -n

Show line numbers when searching with git grep.

git grep -n "search-term"

60. git ls-remote

List references in a remote repository.

git ls-remote origin

61. git merge –no-ff

Merge with a commit, not a fast-forward.

git merge --no-ff new-branch

62. git pull –rebase

Rebase instead of merge when pulling.

git pull --rebase origin main

63. git push –tags

Push all tags to a remote repository.

git push origin --tags

64. git rebase –onto

Rebase on a different branch.

git rebase --onto newbase oldbase branch

65. git reflog expire

Expire old entries in the reflog.

git reflog expire --expire=now --all

66. git remote rename

Rename a remote.

git remote rename origin upstream

67. git remote rm

Remove a remote.

git remote rm origin

68. git rev-list

List commit objects in reverse chronological order.

git rev-list HEAD

69. git show-ref

List references in the repository.

git show-ref

70. git tag -d

Delete a tag.

git tag -d v1.0

71. git pull –prune

Fetch and remove remote-tracking references that no longer exist on the remote.

git pull --prune

72. git update-index

Update the index manually.

git update-index --assume-unchanged file.txt

73. git diff-tree

Compare the content and mode of blobs found via two tree objects.

git diff-tree -p commit-hash

74. git format-patch

Generate a patch file for email submission.

git format-patch -1 HEAD

75. git mv -f

Force move or rename a file.

git mv -f oldname.txt newname.txt

76. git replace

Create, list, delete references to replace objects.

git replace commit-hash

77. git rerere

Reuse recorded resolution of conflicted merges.

git rerere

78. git show –name-status

Show commit details with file status.

git show --name-status

79. git verify-commit

Check the GPG signature of commits.

git verify-commit commit-hash

80. git verify-tag

Check the GPG signature of tags.

git verify-tag v1.0

81. git clean -d

Remove untracked directories as well.

git clean -fd

82. git diff –check

Warn if changes introduce trailing whitespace.

git diff --check

83. git init –bare

Create a bare repository.

git init --bare

84. git rebase –skip

Skip the current patch when rebasing.

git rebase --skip

85. git commit –squash

Squash commits when merging.

git commit --squash commit-hash

86. git merge –abort

Abort a merge in progress.

git merge --abort

87. git blame –show-email

Show email addresses in the blame output.

git blame --show-email file.txt

88. git commit –signoff

Add a Signed-off-by line at the end of the commit message.

git commit --signoff -m "Commit message"

89. git diff –name-only

Show only names of changed files.

git diff --name-only

90. git log –stat

Include stats in the log output.

git log --stat

91. git merge –squash

Merge changes, but do not commit them.

git merge --squash branch

92. git pull –tags

Fetch all tags from a remote.

git pull origin --tags

93. git reset –merge

Reset the index and update files in the working tree.

git reset --merge

94. git revert

Create a new commit that undoes a previous commit.

git revert commit-hash

95. git log –author

Filter the log by author.

git log --author="Your Name"

96. git shortlog -s

Summarize the number of commits per author.

git shortlog -s

97. git reflog show

Show the reflog for a reference.

git reflog show HEAD

98. git reset –hard ORIG_HEAD

Reset to the original state after a merge or pull.

git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD

99. git pull –no-commit

Pull changes, but do not commit them automatically.

git pull --no-commit origin main

100. git config –list

List all configuration settings.

git config --list

There you have it, 100 Git commands. Some are everyday essentials, others more niche. Keep this guide handy, and soon you’ll navigate Git like a pro.

Also Read:

Top 100 Git Commands – Ultimate Git Guide