Git, GitHub Handbook

1git config --global user.name "Your Name"
2git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

1git config --list                          # show all settings
2git config --list --show-origin            # show settings with file locations
3git config user.name                       # show single value

1git config --global init.defaultBranch main

1git config --global core.editor "code --wait"   # VS Code
2git config --global core.editor "vim"            # Vim
3git config --global core.editor "nano"           # Nano

1git config --global credential.helper cache              # cache for 15 min
2git config --global credential.helper 'cache --timeout=3600'  # cache 1 hour
3git config --global credential.helper store              # save to disk (plain text)

1git config --global core.autocrlf input   # macOS/Linux (LF)
2git config --global core.autocrlf true    # Windows (CRLF → LF on commit)

1git init                       # init in current directory
2git init my-project            # create new directory & init
3git init --bare my-repo.git    # bare repo (for servers)

1git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
2git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git my-folder    # custom directory
3git clone [email protected]:user/repo.git                   # SSH

1git clone -b branch-name https://github.com/user/repo.git
2git clone -b v2.0 --single-branch https://github.com/user/repo.git   # single branch only

1git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/user/repo.git               # latest commit only
2git clone --depth 10 https://github.com/user/repo.git              # last 10 commits
3git clone --shallow-since="2024-01-01" https://github.com/user/repo.git

1git status
2git status -s              # short format
3git status -sb             # short + branch info

1git add file.txt           # stage a single file
2git add src/               # stage entire directory
3git add .                  # stage all changes in current dir
4git add -A                 # stage all changes in entire repo
5git add *.js               # stage by pattern
6git add -p                 # interactive staging (hunk by hunk)

1git restore --staged file.txt         # modern syntax
2git restore --staged .                # unstage everything
3git reset HEAD file.txt               # older syntax

1git commit -m "commit message"
2git commit -am "message"              # stage tracked files + commit
3git commit --amend                    # edit last commit message
4git commit --amend --no-edit          # add staged changes to last commit silently
5git commit --allow-empty -m "msg"     # empty commit (useful for CI triggers)
6git commit -m "title" -m "body"       # multi-line: title + description

1git restore file.txt                  # discard working directory changes
2git restore .                         # discard all changes
3git restore --source=HEAD --staged --worktree file.txt   # restore both index & working tree
4git checkout -- file.txt              # older syntax

1git mv old-name.txt new-name.txt     # rename/move tracked file
2git rm file.txt                       # remove from working tree & index
3git rm --cached file.txt              # untrack but keep on disk
4git rm -r --cached folder/            # untrack entire folder

1git branch                # local branches
2git branch -r             # remote branches
3git branch -a             # all branches
4git branch -v             # branches with last commit
5git branch -vv            # branches with upstream tracking info
6git branch --merged       # branches merged into current
7git branch --no-merged    # branches not yet merged

1git branch new-branch                    # create only
2git checkout -b new-branch               # create and switch
3git switch -c new-branch                 # create and switch (modern)
4git checkout -b feature origin/feature   # track remote branch
5git switch -c feature --track origin/feature

1git checkout branch-name
2git switch branch-name           # modern syntax
3git switch -                     # switch to previous branch

1git branch -m old-name new-name          # rename specific branch
2git branch -m new-name                   # rename current branch
3# After renaming, update remote:
4git push origin --delete old-name
5git push -u origin new-name

1git branch -d branch-name                # safe delete (merged only)
2git branch -D branch-name                # force delete
3git push origin --delete branch-name     # delete remote branch

1git merge branch-name
2git merge --no-ff branch-name            # always create merge commit
3git merge --squash branch-name           # squash all commits into one (then git commit)

1git merge --abort

1# After fixing conflicts manually:
2git add resolved-file.txt
3git commit                               # finalize merge
4# Or pick a side:
5git checkout --ours file.txt             # keep current branch version
6git checkout --theirs file.txt           # keep incoming branch version

1git rebase main                          # rebase onto main
2git rebase -i HEAD~3                     # interactive rebase last 3 commits
3git rebase -i --autosquash HEAD~5        # auto-reorder fixup/squash commits
4git rebase --onto main feature bugfix    # rebase bugfix onto main (skip feature)
5git rebase --abort                       # cancel rebase
6git rebase --continue                    # after resolving conflicts
7git rebase --skip                        # skip current conflicting commit

1# Inside the interactive rebase editor:
2# pick   = use commit as-is
3# reword = edit commit message
4# edit   = pause to amend the commit
5# squash = merge into previous commit (keep message)
6# fixup  = merge into previous commit (discard message)
7# drop   = remove commit entirely

1git remote -v                                # list remotes with URLs
2git remote show origin                       # detailed info about a remote

1git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git
2git remote add upstream https://github.com/original/repo.git

1git remote set-url origin https://github.com/user/new-repo.git
2git remote set-url origin [email protected]:user/repo.git    # switch to SSH

1git remote rename origin upstream
2git remote remove origin

1git fetch                         # fetch from default remote
2git fetch origin                  # fetch from specific remote
3git fetch --all                   # fetch from all remotes
4git fetch --prune                 # remove stale remote-tracking branches
5git fetch origin --tags           # fetch all tags from remote
6git fetch origin branch-name      # fetch a specific branch

1git pull                          # pull current branch
2git pull origin main              # pull specific branch
3git pull --rebase                 # fetch + rebase instead of merge
4git pull --rebase=interactive     # interactive rebase on pull
5git pull --autostash              # auto-stash before pull, apply after
6git pull --ff-only                # only fast-forward (fail if diverged)

1git push                          # push current branch
2git push origin main              # push specific branch
3git push -u origin main           # set upstream tracking and push
4git push --all                    # push all branches
5git push --tags                   # push all tags
6git push origin v1.0.0            # push a specific tag
7git push --force                  # force push ⚠️ destructive — rewrites remote
8git push --force-with-lease       # safer force push (fails if remote has new commits)
9git push origin --delete branch   # delete remote branch

1git stash                         # stash tracked changes
2git stash -u                      # include untracked files
3git stash -a                      # include untracked + ignored files
4git stash push -m "description"   # with a message (modern)
5git stash push src/file.txt       # stash specific files

1git stash list                    # list all stashes
2git stash show                    # show latest stash summary
3git stash show -p                 # show latest stash diff
4git stash apply                   # apply latest stash (keep in stash)
5git stash pop                     # apply latest stash and remove it
6git stash apply stash@{2}         # apply specific stash

1git stash drop                    # remove latest stash
2git stash drop stash@{2}          # remove specific stash
3git stash clear                   # remove all stashes
4git stash branch new-branch       # create branch from stash and apply

1git log                                  # full log
2git log --oneline                        # compact format
3git log --oneline --graph --all          # graph with all branches
4git log --oneline --decorate --graph     # with branch/tag names
5git log --author="Name"                  # filter by author
6git log --grep="fix"                     # search commit messages
7git log -n 5                             # last 5 commits
8git log --since="2024-01-01"             # commits since date
9git log --until="2024-06-01"             # commits until date
10git log --after="1 week ago"             # relative dates
11git log -- file.txt                      # history of specific file
12git log --follow file.txt                # follow renames
13git log --stat                           # include file change stats
14git log --pretty=format:"%h %an %s"      # custom format

1# Useful custom formats:
2git log --pretty=format:"%C(red)%h%Creset %s %C(blue)(%an)%Creset"
3git log --pretty=format:"%h %ad %s" --date=short

1git diff                          # unstaged changes
2git diff --staged                 # staged changes (same as --cached)
3git diff HEAD                     # all changes since last commit
4git diff main..feature            # diff between branches
5git diff main...feature           # changes in feature since branching from main
6git diff HEAD~2                   # diff from 2 commits ago
7git diff --stat                   # summary of changes
8git diff --name-only              # only file names
9git diff --name-status            # file names with status (M/A/D)
10git diff --word-diff              # inline word-level diff

1git show abc1234                  # full commit details
2git show HEAD                     # latest commit
3git show HEAD~2                   # 2 commits ago
4git show HEAD:src/file.txt        # file content at commit
5git show --stat abc1234           # commit stats only

1git blame file.txt
2git blame -L 10,20 file.txt       # specific line range
3git blame -w file.txt             # ignore whitespace changes
4git blame -C file.txt             # detect moved/copied lines

1git shortlog -sn                  # count commits per author
2git shortlog -sn --no-merges      # exclude merge commits

1git reset --soft HEAD~1           # undo commit, keep changes staged
2git reset --mixed HEAD~1          # undo commit, unstage changes (default)
3git reset --hard HEAD~1           # undo commit, discard all changes ⚠️
4git reset --hard origin/main      # reset to match remote exactly ⚠️

1git revert abc1234                # create new commit that undoes changes
2git revert HEAD                   # revert last commit
3git revert HEAD~3..HEAD           # revert last 3 commits
4git revert --no-commit abc1234    # stage revert without committing

1git cherry-pick abc1234                   # apply a single commit
2git cherry-pick abc1234 def5678           # apply multiple commits
3git cherry-pick abc1234..def5678          # apply range of commits
4git cherry-pick --no-commit abc1234       # stage without committing
5git cherry-pick --abort                   # cancel in-progress cherry-pick

1git reflog                        # view history of HEAD movements
2git reflog show feature-branch    # reflog for specific branch
3git checkout abc1234              # go to a specific commit (detached HEAD)
4git branch recovery abc1234       # create branch from lost commit

1git tag                                    # list all tags
2git tag -l "v1.*"                          # filter tags by pattern
3git tag -l --sort=-version:refname "v*"    # sort by version descending

1git tag v1.0.0                             # lightweight tag
2git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release 1.0.0"      # annotated tag (recommended)
3git tag -a v1.0.0 abc1234                  # tag a past commit

1git push origin v1.0.0             # push single tag
2git push origin --tags             # push all tags
3git push --follow-tags             # push commits + annotated tags

1git tag -d v1.0.0                  # delete local tag
2git push origin --delete v1.0.0    # delete remote tag
3git push origin :refs/tags/v1.0.0  # alternative delete syntax

1git show v1.0.0                    # show tag details and commit
2git describe                       # describe HEAD relative to nearest tag
3git describe --tags --abbrev=0     # nearest tag name only

1git bisect start                   # begin bisect session
2git bisect bad                     # mark current commit as bad
3git bisect good abc1234            # mark a known good commit
4# Git checks out a midpoint — test it, then:
5git bisect good                    # if this commit works
6git bisect bad                     # if this commit is broken
7# Repeat until Git finds the first bad commit
8git bisect reset                   # end bisect, return to original branch
9git bisect log                     # view bisect history
10git bisect replay log.txt          # replay a saved bisect session

1git bisect start HEAD abc1234
2git bisect run ./test-script.sh    # auto-test each step (exit 0 = good)

1git worktree list                              # list all worktrees
2git worktree add ../hotfix-tree hotfix-branch   # create linked worktree
3git worktree add -b new-branch ../new-tree      # create worktree + new branch
4git worktree remove ../hotfix-tree              # remove a worktree
5git worktree move ../old-path ../new-path       # move a worktree

1git submodule add https://github.com/user/lib.git libs/lib   # add submodule
2git submodule init                             # initialize submodule config
3git submodule update                           # fetch & checkout submodule commits
4git submodule update --init                    # init + update in one step
5git submodule update --init --recursive        # include nested submodules
6git submodule update --remote                  # update to latest remote commit
7git submodule foreach git pull origin main     # pull in all submodules
8git submodule status                           # show submodule commit SHAs
9git submodule deinit libs/lib                  # unregister a submodule
10git rm libs/lib                                # remove submodule from project

1git sparse-checkout init --cone                # enable cone mode
2git sparse-checkout set src/ docs/             # only checkout these dirs
3git sparse-checkout add tests/                 # add more dirs
4git sparse-checkout list                       # show checked-out dirs
5git sparse-checkout disable                    # disable, restore full repo

1gh auth login                              # interactive login
2gh auth login --web                        # browser-based login
3gh auth login --with-token < token.txt     # token from file
4gh auth login --hostname enterprise.internal  # GitHub Enterprise
5gh auth status                             # check auth status
6gh auth logout                             # log out
7gh auth refresh --scopes write:packages    # add extra scopes

1gh repo create my-repo --public            # create public repo
2gh repo create my-org/project --private    # create in org
3gh repo create --source=. --remote=origin --push  # from local dir
4gh repo clone user/repo                    # clone a repo
5gh repo fork user/repo                     # fork a repo
6gh repo fork user/repo --clone             # fork and clone locally
7gh repo fork --org my-org                  # fork into organization
8gh repo view                               # view repo info
9gh repo view --web                         # open in browser
10gh repo set-default owner/repo             # set default repo for CLI
11gh repo list user --limit 50               # browse repos

1gh pr create --title "Title" --body "Body"    # create PR
2gh pr create --fill                            # auto-fill from commits
3gh pr create --draft                           # create as draft
4gh pr create --web                             # open creation page in browser
5gh pr create --base main --head feature        # specify branches
6gh pr list                                     # list open PRs
7gh pr list --state all                         # list all PRs
8gh pr view 42                                  # view PR details
9gh pr view 42 --web                            # open PR in browser
10gh pr checkout 42                              # checkout PR locally
11gh pr diff 42                                  # view PR diff
12gh pr merge 42                                 # merge PR
13gh pr merge 42 --squash                        # squash merge
14gh pr merge 42 --rebase                        # rebase merge
15gh pr merge 42 --auto                          # auto-merge when checks pass
16gh pr close 42                                 # close without merging
17gh pr reopen 42                                # reopen a closed PR
18gh pr review 42 --approve                      # approve PR
19gh pr review 42 -r -b "needs changes"          # request changes
20gh pr revert 42                                # revert a merged PR

1gh search prs "fix bug" --repo=user/repo
2gh search prs --review-requested=@me --state=open
3gh search prs --author=@me --merged
4gh search prs --assignee=@me --draft

1gh issue create --title "Bug" --body "Details"
2gh issue create --label "bug,urgent"           # with labels
3gh issue create --assignee @me                 # assign to self
4gh issue list                                  # list open issues
5gh issue list --state all --limit 100
6gh issue list --label "bug"                    # filter by label
7gh issue view 42                               # view issue details
8gh issue close 42                              # close issue
9gh issue reopen 42                             # reopen issue
10gh issue edit 42 --add-label "priority"        # edit labels
11gh issue comment 42 --body "Working on this"

1gh release create v1.0.0                       # create release
2gh release create v1.0.0 --generate-notes      # auto-generate notes
3gh release create v1.0.0 --draft               # create draft release
4gh release create v1.0.0 ./build.zip           # upload asset
5gh release list                                # list releases
6gh release view v1.0.0                         # view release
7gh release download v1.0.0                     # download assets
8gh release delete v1.0.0                       # delete release

1gh gist create file.txt                        # create gist from file
2gh gist create file.txt --public               # public gist
3gh gist create -d "description" file.txt       # with description
4gh gist list                                   # list your gists
5gh gist view <id>                              # view gist
6gh gist clone <id>                             # clone gist locally
7gh gist edit <id>                              # edit a gist
8gh gist delete <id>                            # delete a gist

1gh workflow list                               # list workflows
2gh workflow view deploy.yml                    # view workflow details
3gh workflow run deploy.yml                     # trigger workflow manually
4gh workflow run deploy.yml -f env=production   # with input parameters
5gh run list                                    # list recent runs
6gh run view 12345                              # view run summary
7gh run view 12345 --log                        # full run log
8gh run view 12345 --log-failed                 # only failed step logs
9gh run watch 12345                             # live-watch a run
10gh run rerun 12345                             # rerun a workflow
11gh run cancel 12345                            # cancel a run
12gh run download 12345                          # download run artifacts

1gh secret set MY_SECRET                        # set repo secret (prompt)
2gh secret set MY_SECRET < secret.txt           # set from file
3gh secret set MY_SECRET --env production       # environment secret
4gh secret set MYSECRET --user                  # user-level (Codespaces)
5gh secret list                                 # list repo secrets
6gh secret delete MY_SECRET                     # delete a secret
7gh variable set MY_VAR --body "value"          # set a variable
8gh variable list                               # list variables

1gh ssh-key list                                # list SSH keys
2gh ssh-key add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub           # add SSH key
3gh gpg-key list                                # list GPG keys
4gh gpg-key add key.pub                         # add GPG key

1gh api repos/user/repo                         # GET request
2gh api repos/user/repo/issues -f title="Bug"   # POST with fields
3gh api --method DELETE repos/user/repo/issues/1
4gh api graphql -f query='{ viewer { login } }'  # GraphQL query
5gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/releases --jq '.[0].tag_name'  # with jq filter

1git clean -n                  # dry run — show what would be removed
2git clean -f                  # remove untracked files
3git clean -fd                 # remove untracked files and directories
4git clean -fX                 # remove only ignored files
5git clean -fdx                # remove untracked + ignored files & dirs ⚠️

1git gc                        # standard cleanup
2git gc --aggressive           # deeper optimization
3git gc --prune=now            # prune all unreachable objects immediately

1git remote prune origin       # remove stale remote-tracking branches
2git fetch --prune             # prune during fetch
3git prune                     # remove unreachable objects
4git fsck                      # verify repository integrity

1git count-objects -vH          # human-readable object count & size
2git rev-list --count HEAD      # total commit count

1git config --global alias.st "status -sb"
2git config --global alias.co checkout
3git config --global alias.br branch
4git config --global alias.ci commit
5git config --global alias.unstage "restore --staged"
6git config --global alias.last "log -1 HEAD --stat"
7git config --global alias.lg "log --oneline --graph --all --decorate"
8git config --global alias.amend "commit --amend --no-edit"
9git config --global alias.undo "reset --soft HEAD~1"
10git config --global alias.contributors "shortlog -sn --no-merges"
11git config --global alias.aliases "config --get-regexp alias"

1# Common patterns
2*.log                  # ignore all .log files
3node_modules/          # ignore directory
4dist/                  # ignore build output
5.env                   # ignore env files
6.env.*                 # ignore all env variants
7!.env.example          # exception — track this one
8**/*.tmp               # ignore .tmp in any nested directory
9build/                 # ignore build folder
10*.DS_Store             # macOS system files
11Thumbs.db              # Windows system files

1git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global