Git Repository Structure

Every Git project has four key areas:

Area	Description
Working Directory	Where you write and edit code locally
Staging Area (Index)	Where you prepare changes before committing
Local Repository	Your local commit history (the .git folder)
Remote Repository	The central repo hosted on GitHub

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Setup

git --version # Check Git is installed
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

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Started a new repo

mkdir git-trained
cd git-trained
git init

To clone my repo

git clone https://github.com/Adventuric/git-trained

Connect to a remote repo

git remote add origin https://github.com/Adventuric/git-trained

Stage → Commit → Push

git add . # Staging all changes
git add -A # Stage all files and folders
git status # Check what's staged / untracked
git commit -m "your message" # Commit staged changes
git commit -a -m "your message" # Commiting without staging changes
git push <git-trained> main # Push to GitHub

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Branching

Work on features or fixes without touching the main codebase.

git branch <new-branch> # Create a branch
git checkout <new-branch> # Switch to it
# or do both at once:
git checkout -b <new-branch>

git branch # List all branches
git checkout main # Switch back to main

Merging a branch

git checkout main
git merge <branch-name>

Delete a branch

git branch -d <branch-name> # Safe delete (merged only)
git branch -D <branch-name> # Force delete
git push git-trained --delete <branch-name> # Delete from GitHub

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Stashing

Temporarily save uncommitted work so you can switch context.

git stash # Save changes, clean working dir
git stash save "label-name" # Stash with a label
git stash list # View all stashes
git stash clear # Delete all stashes

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Inspecting & Comparing

git status # See staged, unstaged, and untracked files
git log # View commit history
git diff # Compare working directory vs staging area

Reverting a file to a previous commit

git checkout <commit-hash> file.txt

Use git log to find the commit hash. HEAD always points to your latest commit.

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Ignoring Files

Create a .gitignore file to exclude logs, secrets, and build artifacts:

touch .gitignore
echo "*.log" >> .gitignore # Ignore all .log files
echo "node_modules/" >> .gitignore # Ignore node_modules folder
echo ".env" >> .gitignore # Ignore environment variables file

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Removing Files

git rm "filename" # Remove from repo and working directory
git rm --cached "filename" # Remove from staging only (keep local file)

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↩ Undoing Changes

git checkout -f # Discard ALL uncommitted changes (use with caution)

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Quick Reference Cheat Sheet

Command	What it does
git init	Initialize a new local repo
git clone <url>	Copy a remote repo locally
git add .	Stage all changes
git commit -m "msg"	Save a snapshot
git push origin main	Upload to GitHub
git pull origin main	Download + merge from GitHub
git branch <name>	Create a branch
git checkout <branch>	Switch branches
git merge <branch>	Merge branch into current
git stash	Temporarily save uncommitted work
git log	View commit history
git diff	Compare working dir vs staging
git status	Check current repo state

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