Essential Git Commands Cheat Sheet

Git Commands Cheat Sheet

The most-used Git commands, organized by task. Bookmark this for quick reference.

Setup

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@email.com"
git init                 # new repo
git clone <url>           # copy a repo

Daily Workflow

git status               # what changed
git add .                # stage all
git commit -m "msg"      # commit
git push                 # upload
git pull                 # download + merge

Branching

git branch               # list
git checkout -b new      # create + switch
git switch main          # switch
git merge feature        # merge
git branch -d feature    # delete

Undoing Things

git restore file.js          # discard changes
git reset --soft HEAD~1      # undo last commit, keep changes
git reset --hard HEAD~1      # undo + discard (careful!)
git revert <hash>            # safe undo (new commit)

Inspecting

git log --oneline        # compact history
git diff                 # unstaged changes
git show <hash>          # show a commit

FAQs

reset vs revert?

reset rewrites history; revert safely undoes via a new commit. More in our Git section.

How do I undo git add?

git restore --staged file.js.