8 git commands I use everyday

If you are already using git, then you can skip this paragraph. If you are fist hearing this word, then I can give you the basics for now. Git is the most used versioning control system. It basically is a way you can track all the versions of the program without having to get creative with folder names (version1, version1final, version1finalfinal etc.). Git also provides a way for multiple people to collaborate on the same project without stepping on each other’s toes (most of the time). You can get started with this tutorial. If you don’t know git you should start learning it now. I can’t stress enough how important and widely used it is.

If you already know about git, then you should have realized by now that keeping the git history clean is really helpful. It makes it easier to see what is merged and what needs work. You see when the changes were made and you can search through them for something that you want. It worth the effort to keep the history nice and organized for everyone. Without further ado, there are 8 git commands I use every day

git log

This is a nice and easy one. It shows all the history of the project, commit hashes, commit times and commit messages. You can search through the history by typing “/” if you want to look for something in particular.

git checkout -b branch_name

This creates a new branch of my current branch and checks the new branch out. Nice and easy way to get the task going.

git diff --cached

Once you add the changes you want for your task, you can review the staged changes to make sure everything is as expected. This command, together with git status, should save you from any surprised when doing a commit.

git commit -m "first message" -m "Second message"

The first message is a short description of what the changes are in this commit. I provide more details on the changes on the second message, which usually spans across multiple lines.

git rebase -i hash

Generally, when I work on a task I end up with a lot of commits on my branch. You know the ones: attempt at something, first iteration on something else, some minor change, oh now there is a typo. I like to have my tickets in a single commit when merging. This way, in the unlikely event, that I need to revert a ticket I can do that with just one commit.

git rebase master

I rebase a lot. Anytime I want to merge something I do a rebase on master first. This way you neatly stack all the commits for a ticket together. Makes following the git history much easier and reverting a change is easy peasy lemon squeezy.

git merge branch --no-ff

I very much prefer merging without fast forward. You get a nice commit message to celebrate and an easy to find point in the past to checkout if the need arises.

git push --delete origin/branch

Now it’s time to remove your work in progress and start anew. Great job! I prefer the more verbose way of deleting a branch. It’s harder to mess it up.

Let me know what other git commands you use everyday ?