QUICK GUIDE TO GIT BASICS

GIT WORKFLOW

Working Directory

• Everything that's not saved - like the code we are creating, our files, directories and changes - lives here.

Staging Area

• This is a file that stores the information about what will go in your next commit - Files and directories that we explicitly add to the staging area. Also known as index.

Git Repository

• Here is were the files are commmited and where the project up to date lives.

BASIC COMMANDS

Account configuration

• git config --global user.email [email protected]
• git config --global user.name yourName (To configure only the current repository, avoid using --global)

Add all files in directory (include hidden ones)

• git add -A

Add multiple files of a certain type

• git add *.extension

Remove files from staging area

• git reset HEAD

Ignore files and directories

• Create a file named .gitignore
• Write inside the name of the files and directories Git should ignore

Check out our commit history

• git log
• To exit git log when the log is too long, press Q

Check out old commits

• git log
• Find the hash key to the required commit (no need to copy the full hash, a few characters from the beginning would be enough)
• git checkout
• In order to work with this commit without overwrite your actual branch, move files to a new branch using - git checkout -b <new_branch_name>
• NOTE: When you checkout an earlier commit, you are now in a "detached HEAD" state, this means that you are no longer on the commit that is being pointed to by the HEAD. The HEAD, in git, is a pointer to the most recent commit of whichever branch you are currently on.

Git Branches

Listing all branches

• git branch

Add a branch and move there

• git checkout -b <new_branch_name>

Move from one branch to another

• git checkout <branch_name>

Merge a branch

• From the branch where we want to "update"
• git merge <branch_name>
• To exit the message window while merging (in case it appears), use - esc + ctrl + zz or - esc + :wq (both commands perform save and exit)

Remove a branch

• git branch -d <branch_name>

Link a repository to GitHub

• git remote add origin "url"
• git remote -v (checks out the remote repository)
• git push origin <branch_name> (push to GitHub)