Thoughts Worth Documenting
Home / Documentation / A list of basic git commands

A list of basic git commands

Some basic Git commands.

File classifications

  • Tracked - Any file already in the repository or staged in the index.
  • Ignored - Any file that is declared invisible or ignored in the repository though present in the working directory.
  • Untracked - Any file that is neither tracked nor ignored.

Renaming a branch

This is from Renaming a branch on Github. Refer to this link for the authoritative instructions.

  1. Go to the main page of the repository.
  2. Click the Branches icon.
  3. Click the Edit icon to the right of the branch to be renamed.
  4. Type a new name for the branch in the Rename this branch field.
  5. Review the messages. They show the implications of renaming this branch.
  6. Click Rename branch. The branch is now renamed.
  7. Run the following set of commands on a local clone of the repository to update the name of the default branch:
$ git branch -m OLD-BRANCH-NAME NEW-BRANCH-NAME
$ git fetch origin
$ git branch -u origin/NEW-BRANCH-NAME NEW-BRANCH-NAME
$ git remote set-head origin -a

The branch is now renamed and a local clone has been updated.

Git command list

Command Description
$ git Git Help.
$ git version Provides version of git.
$ git init Create a repository. Create a directory, such as /example. cd to this directory and run git init to turn the directory into a repository.
$ git add Staging a file. For example, run git add index.html to add this file to the new repository.
$ git status Check the state of the repository. Shows which files need to be committed.
$ git commit Commits a file to the remote repository.
$ git commit - m "A comment added to the commit" Commits and adds comment.
$ git commit --message Same as git commit -m.
$ git commit --all Stages all known modified files and commits them.
$ git log View comments.
$ git checkout branch_name Switches to the branch provided in branch_name.
$ git pull Pulls from origin repository to make the local repo up-to-date.
$ git checkout -b new_branch_name Creates a new branch named new_branch_name.
$ git rm filename Removes file from both repository and working directory.
$ git commit - "Remove a file called filename" Same as git rm filename but adds a comment.
$ git clone repository_directory new_repository_directory Makes a copy (a clone) of a repository
$ git mv filename newfilename Moves a file to a new filename (same as renaming.
$ git commit -m "renamed filename to newfilename" Renames a file.
$ git remote prune origin Remove tracking references to the old branch name.