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Note Layout Title

Git and GitHub Reference

Table of Contents

• [[#Git Basics]]
• [[#Configuring Git]]
• [[#Working with Repositories]]
• [[#Branching and Merging]]
• [[#Staging and Committing]]
• [[#Undoing Changes]]
• [[#Working with Remotes]]
• [[#GitHub Collaboration]]
• [[#Common Git Commands]]
• [[#Tips and Best Practices]]
• [[#Read more]]

Git Basics

Git is a distributed version control system that tracks changes in your code.

Key Concepts

• Repository (Repo): A project managed by Git.
• Commit: A snapshot of changes.
• Branch: A separate line of development.
• Merge: Combining branches.
• Remote: Repositories stored on another server (e.g., GitHub).
• Clone: A local copy of a remote repository.

Configuring Git

# Set global username and email
$ git config --global user.name "Your Name"
$ git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

# Check current configuration
$ git config --list

# Set default editor
$ git config --global core.editor "code --wait"

Working with Repositories

# Initialize a new repository
$ git init

# Clone an existing repository
$ git clone <repository-url>

# Check repository status
$ git status

Branching and Merging

# List branches
$ git branch

# Create a new branch
$ git branch <branch-name>

# Switch to a branch
$ git checkout <branch-name>

# Create and switch to a branch
$ git checkout -b <branch-name>

# Merge a branch into the current branch
$ git merge <branch-name>

# Delete a branch
$ git branch -d <branch-name>

Staging and Committing

# Stage files for commit
$ git add <file>

# Stage all files
$ git add .

# Commit changes
$ git commit -m "Commit message"

# Amend the last commit
$ git commit --amend

Undoing Changes

# Unstage files
$ git reset <file>

# Undo last commit (keep changes unstaged)
$ git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Undo last commit (discard changes)
$ git reset --hard HEAD~1

# Revert a specific commit
$ git revert <commit-hash>

Working with Remotes

# Add a remote
$ git remote add origin <url>

# List remotes
$ git remote -v

# Push changes to remote
$ git push origin <branch-name>

# Pull changes from remote
$ git pull origin <branch-name>

GitHub Collaboration

# Fork a repository (done on GitHub UI)

# Create a pull request (done on GitHub UI)

# Fetch and merge changes from the main branch
$ git fetch upstream
$ git merge upstream/main

# Rebase from main
$ git rebase main

Common Git Commands

Tips and Best Practices

• Write Clear Commit Messages: Summarise changes and include details when necessary.
• Avoid Committing Large Files: Use .gitignore for files that don’t need to be tracked.
• Branch Often: Use branches for new features, bug fixes, or experiments.
• Pull Regularly: Sync with the main branch frequently to avoid merge conflicts. Always pull the latest changes before pushing.
• Squash Commits Before Merging: Combine small commits to keep history clean.
• Use .gitignore to exclude files from being tracked.

Read more

• [[00_Fleeting_inbox/git workflows|git workflows]] - personal note
• git-scm.com/documentation - Official Git documentation
• youtube.com/video - “Git & Github tutorial | Visualised git course for beginner & professional developers in 2024” by JavaScript Mastery
• youtube.com/video - “Git tutorial for beginners: Learn git in 1 hour” by Programming with Mosh

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