Git

🕒 Created: 2022-11-26 | Updated: 2025-12-13

CLI Commands

Documentation .
git --version
- Shows the git version.
git \_generic_command -h
- Shows the help/tutorials for the given command; e.g.: git clean -h.
git init
- Initializes a git repository. If the directory doesn't have a .git folder, it is created with files inside.
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR_USER/YOUR_REPO.git
- Add the remote repository to your local project.
git remote -v
- Check if the remote repository was added correctly.
git clone
git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git
git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git my-custom-folder
git clone git@github.com:username/repo.git
git ls-a
- Shows all git files.
git ls-tree \_COMMIT_ID (or) \_HEAD~\_number_of_commits_to_go_back
- Shows the content in a 'tree' format of the given commit; if no commit is given, the current one is used.
git add \_file_name (or) \_abbreviations_for_multiple_files
- Adds the changes of the file(s) to the staging area.
git rm \_file_name
- Removes the file from the local directory and the staging area.
git commit -m "\_title"
- git commit -m "\_title" -m "\_description"
- Commits the changes that were in the staging area. The -m option is used to set the "_title" message for the commit.
- Adds an extra description in addition to the initial "_title".
revert
- Creates a new commit that reverses the changes of the previous commit.
- It's pretty safe.
git reset
- Moves HEAD "back", basically doing an UNDO of everything new that was done.
- (2024-10-19) I used git reset . It worked nicely. The commit is undone and the commit's changes are placed in the Changes tab to be committed again or discarded.
- Types of 'reset':
  - git reset == git reset HEAD
  - git reset HEAD^
    - HEAD^ means "the parent commit" of the commit HEAD is pointing to (the commit before the most recent).
- .
restore
- Restores the file to a previous version.
- There are other options with git restore -h .
- git restore \=\=source\=\_COMMIT_ID (or) \_HEAD~\_number_of_commits_to_go_back \_file_name
amend
- Combines the previous commit with the staged modifications.
- Usually used only to change the commit message/description.
- I tried to use this when there were file changes, and it resulted in creating a new branch, with a merge back to the current branch with the changes. It was kind of weird and not "clean".
cherry-pick
- Used to move individual commits between branches, commonly used to fix the mistake of committing to the wrong branch.
- Explanation and demo .
reflog
- Reverts a commit or branch that was deleted, by going back in time.
- reflog .
git show \_COMMIT_ID (or) \_HEAD~\_number_of_commits_to_go_back
- Shows the given commit.
git status
- Gives information about commits and the staging area.
- git status -s
  - Gives the information in a shortened form; short format.

Logging

Navigate

Scroll:
- Space → next page
- b → previous page
- Enter → next line
- y → previous line
Search:
- /pattern → search forward
- ?pattern → search backward
- n → repeat search forward
- N → repeat search backward
Go to start/end:
- g → start of file
- G → end of file
Exit:
- q → quit less and return to shell

Git Log

git log
- Ex:
- git log --follow -p -m "--pretty=format:COMMIT: %ad HASH: %h" --word-diff -U0 --date=short -- "path.md"
Shows the change logs.
git log --oneline
- Shows the logs in a compact form.
Filter options can be by 'date', 'message', 'author', 'file' or 'branch'.
--follow
- Continue listing the history of a file beyond renames (works only for a single file).
--pretty-format
- %H
  - commit hash
- %h
  - abbreviated commit hash
- %T
  - tree hash
- %t
  - abbreviated tree hash
- %P
  - parent hashes
- %p
  - abbreviated parent hashes
- %an
  - author name
- %aN
  - author name (respecting .mailmap, see git-shortlog or git-blame )
- %ae
  - author email
- %aE
  - author email (respecting .mailmap, see git-shortlog or git-blame )
- %al
  - author email local-part (the part before the @ sign)
- %aL
  - author local-part (see %al ) respecting .mailmap, see git-shortlog or git-blame )
- %ad
  - author date (format respects --date= option)
- %aD
  - author date, RFC2822 style
- %ar
  - author date, relative
- %at
  - author date, UNIX timestamp
- %ai
  - author date, ISO 8601-like format
- %aI
  - author date, strict ISO 8601 format
- %as
  - author date, short format ( YYYY-MM-DD )
- %ah
  - author date, human style (like the --date=human option of git-rev-list )
- %cn
  - committer name
- %cN
  - committer name (respecting .mailmap, see git-shortlog or git-blame )
- %ce
  - committer email
- %cE
  - committer email (respecting .mailmap, see git-shortlog or git-blame )
- %cl
  - committer email local-part (the part before the @ sign)
- %cL
  - committer local-part (see %cl ) respecting .mailmap, see git-shortlog or git-blame )
- %cd
  - committer date (format respects --date= option)
- %cD
  - committer date, RFC2822 style
- %cr
  - committer date, relative
- %ct
  - committer date, UNIX timestamp
- %ci
  - committer date, ISO 8601-like format
- %cI
  - committer date, strict ISO 8601 format
- %cs
  - committer date, short format ( YYYY-MM-DD )
- %ch
  - committer date, human style (like the --date=human option of git-rev-list )
- %d
  - ref names, like the --decorate option of git-log
- %D
  - ref names without the " (", ")" wrapping.
git blame
- For line-level attributions.

Submodules

Based on having a git repository inside another git repository.
The submodule files are in the local directory, but are not part of the main repository, therefore not part of the main repo's version control.
SubModules .
- The video explains how to fetch submodules of an existing repository when cloning, since they are not downloaded automatically:
  - Run git clone --recursive-submodules _repo_url_ when cloning.
  - Or run git submodule update --init --recursive after cloning.
Removing submodules .

Etc

Conventions

Conventional Commits for commit naming .

Stuff

HEAD :
- Current branch.
Trees :
- Directories.
Blobs :
- Files.
*.txt
- All files with .txt extension.
.
- All files.

Patch

Actually creates a "patch notes" of differences between commits.
Nothing is committed or changed; everything remains the same. It just saves a log file in the chosen location.
Example I made:

From c771e59a7b26cfd3670ccfb62e282c8e4a576e7b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Caio Raphael <caioraphael00@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2024 08:47:29 -0300
Subject: [PATCH] f2

---
 file_2.txt | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
 create mode 100644 file_2.txt

diff --git a/file_2.txt b/file_2.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ec9a4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/file_2.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+aa
\ No newline at end of file
-- 
2.38.1.windows.1

Whatever. Weird reading.
The "save as patch" option when selecting commits does exactly the same. It doesn't change anything, it just downloads the .patch file.

Gitignore

How to stop tracking a directory/file that was previously an exception in .gitignore

If '.gitignore' is configured to ignore everything except a list of exceptions, and I want to start ignoring a file/folder (i.e., remove the exception) I do:
- Modify the '.gitignore' file and submit only it to GitHub.
- Remove the file/folder locally.
- Commit the local changes and do a Fetch Origin and Push from GitHub Desktop to GitHub.
- Done. After that, I can put the file/folder back in the local repo without problems, since it's no longer listed as an exception in '.gitignore'.

Security

Access Tokens

Explanation and example use of Access Tokens, and a bit about SSH Keys: video .

SSH Keys

A somewhat 'vague' explanation about SSH Keys, Public and Private: video .

Advanced Security

Video explaining several 'Advanced Security' concepts: GitHub channel video .
- Secrets Scanning (scans Organization, Repository and Environment code for leaked secrets).
  - More detailed video: video .
- CodeQL (Code Scanning) (scans code for security vulnerabilities).
  - Can be used to check for viruses or vulnerabilities in public repositories before making changes or forks.
  - Reminder: Query Language (QL) refers to any programming language that requests data and retrieves it from a database/systems using "queries".
- Dependabot (checks dependencies against other open-source repositories).

Gitattributes

DON'T TOUCH THIS. EVER.
I CORRUPTED SOME FILES ONCE.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT, DON'T USE IT.
FORBIDEN.

Providers

GitHub .
https://bitbucket.org/.
- Seems like an alternative to GitHub, allowing private accounts with multiple people.

GitHub

Storage

Repository size limits (1)
Repository size limits (2)
In short:
- Ideally keep below 1GB, but the maximum is 5GB; they send an email if you're close to that value.
- There's a storage and bandwidth limit of 1GB for LFS (Large File Storage), used for very large files.
Check repository size
Check LFS and package usage

Account types

GitHub Free account:
- Public:
  - (unsure).
  - Can do Automatic Merges of Pull Requests.
- Private:
  - Doesn't have collaborator access restriction options; it's full-access (read-write) or nothing.
  - No Branch Protection options.
  - Can't do Automatic Merge of Pull Requests, but can be unlocked if you have paid accounts like 'GitHub Pro', 'GitHub Team' or 'GitHub Enterprise (Cloud or Server)'.
- Owner and Collaborator access permissions: documentation .
Organization Free account:
- Private:
  - Has limited collaborator access restrictions; read-only, write, admin, etc.
  - No Branch Protection options, but can be unlocked with paid plans like 'GitHub Pro', 'GitHub Team' or 'GitHub Enterprise'.
- Public:
  - Has limited collaborator access restrictions; read-only, write, admin, etc.
  - Has all Branch Protection options.
- Base permissions for Collaborators, Members, etc: documentation .
  - Read:
    - Cannot create new files on the remote.
    - Cannot edit any files or settings.
    - Can Pull (remote -> local) but cannot Push (local -> remote).
    - Can create Pull Requests, but cannot approve them because Write permission is required.
    - Cannot close or reopen others' Pull Requests.
  - Triage:
    - Main difference vs Read :
      - Still very limited, no Write permission, but can manage Issues and Pull Requests from others.
    - Cannot create new files on the remote.
    - Cannot edit files or settings.
    - Can Pull but cannot Push.
    - Can create Pull Requests but cannot approve them.
    - Can close and reopen other people's Pull Requests.

Solution for 'group privacy' with GitHub Free (Organization + Fork)

I moved the repository into an Organization I created.
Changed the Organization's default access restrictions to Read-Only.
Changed individual collaborator access for the repository to Read-Only.
Collaborator (Paola) forks the repository and edits that fork.
Results and implications:
- High access restrictions for the collaborator on the original repository, since access is Read-only.
- Changes can be made in the fork without security concerns; a Pull Request from the Fork to the Original is required to change the original.
- Strangely, the owner of the Original repo can fully access and control the Fork, even without being a collaborator on that Fork.

See which private repositories I contribute to

GitExplorer .

{
  viewer {
    repositories(first: 100, affiliations: [COLLABORATOR], privacy: PRIVATE) {
      nodes {
        name
        url
        owner {
          login
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

GitClients

Terminal-based

LazyGit

LazyGit .
For Windows, Linux and Mac.
Completely text-based.
Configs .
CustomPagers .
- Delta .
  - Install .
- Support does not extend to Windows users , because we're using a package which doesn't have Windows support.
After testing :
- Cool cool.

Magit

Magit .
For Windows, Linux and Mac.
It's an Emacs plugin. Completely text-based, purely terminal.

Cong

Cong .
For Windows.
Couldn't find any videos about it.
Visual is kinda ~terminal/hacker, semi-terminal client.
Not friendly. No graph visualization.
When testing :
- Opened but showed a gray screen.
- From issues it seems to have many basic problematic things.

GitCola

GitCola .
For Windows, Linux and Mac.
Looks simplistic, somewhat terminal-oriented.
Couldn't find videos about it.
When testing :
- UI looked very dated and visually terrible. Kinda bait.
- (2025-05-27)
  - Very very bad.

GUIs

List of GUIs .
~ SourceGit .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Couldn't find videos about it.
- Open Source.
- *When testing:
  - Lots of features and very straightforward.
  - Didn't like the interface; unnecessarily dense.
  - It's an app I might keep in the background for occasional complex tasks.
  - Not my default app choice; complicated.
  - (2025-05-27)
    - Crashed, I had to pull the PC plug.
    - etc.
    - App is very unpleasant to use.
~ RelaGit .
- Issue .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Couldn't find videos about it.
- Open Source.
- App is in beta.
- Layout very similar to GitHubDesktop. Feels like an improved version, but didn't convince me due to install issues and smaller project trust.
- *When testing:
  - No installer, just a folder with files.
  - (2024-06-15) Downloading and opening the app didn't work; it simply didn't open despite dependencies installed. There's an Issue about this.
  - (2024-06-15) Build attempt:
    - Need Node.js (v18+) and pnpm.
    - iwr https://get.pnpm.io/install.ps1 -useb | iex .
    - Installed Node.js, didn't change defaults.
    - Restarted terminal.
    - git clone https://github.com/relagit/relagit relagit
    - cd relagit
    - pnpm i
    - pnpm build (failed here).
~~GitButler~~ .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Huge marketing; very annoying.
- Beta.
- Open Source.
- Idea: "Virtual Branches".
  - "You don’t need to switch branches if you can work on several simultaneously. Fix your bug while you work on your feature.".
  - "Virtual branches are derived from the working directory, not the other way around..."
- *When testing:
  - Felt buggy and clunky.
  - Old/new interface, incomplete.
~~GitHubDesktop~~ .
- *When testing:
  - Viewing commits of another branch switches you to that branch, which I HATE; causes file corruption and confusion if not careful.
    - That's why I uninstalled the app.
  - No decent way to handle merge conflicts.
~~GitKraken~~ .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Pretty cool. Liked the graph visualization.
- Technically usable for free but with many limitations: Pricing .
- 7-day trial for full version.
- Highly recommended as one of the best Git GUIs.
- *When testing:
  - Interface felt idiotic with tutorials and unnecessary stuff, reminded me of VSCode.
  - After the 7-day trial, got message "The free plan does not support opening private or self-hosted repositories. Upgrade to open this repository", so I had to close the RPG Darkwood repo I had open.
~~GitBreeze~~ .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- No videos found.
- Some features locked behind "premium": Pricing .
- The colored dots likely represent 'New', 'Changed' and 'Removed'.
- Site didn't impress me.
- *When testing:
  - Has an 'AI Analysis' for commits, which I consider garbage.
  - Interface ugly and bland.
  - Not a fan.
  - 30-day free trial then limited free version — inconsistent.
~~GitFiend~~ .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- I couldn't find any video about it.
- Seems to have been in beta for several years. Sounds stagnant in development.
- *When testing:
  - I found the visual a bit washed out and not very pleasant to the eyes. Tab transitions are unnecessary and a bit laggy.
  - It auto-stages changes, which I like.
  - Has a design similar to GitHub Desktop, but with a history that has a light graph.
  - I didn't like it that much, but I didn't hate it either.
  - The app has zero customization and configuration.
  - There is no intuitive interface for performing merges. It's awkward and very ambiguous just like GitHub Desktop.
  - I didn't find any real advantage that would make me want to use this app over the generic/poor (but more reliable) GitHub Desktop.
~~GitAhead~~ .
- For Windows.
- No longer in active development.
- Open Source.
- *When testing:
  - I didn't like the UI at all. It reminds me of SourceTree's UI, being ultra dated / trying to be modern. It doesn't look good, it reminds me of Office stuff.
  - Simply didn't like the app.
~~Sourcetree~~ .
- For Windows and Mac.
- It's from the company that made Bitbucket. ~Seems like it can sometimes show ads.
- The interface is not very pretty. Feels a bit dated.
- Using Sourcetree with GitHub .
- *When testing:
  - While trying to install, I immediately ran into a Bitbucket ad. Didn't like it.
  - The interface is very Office-like and ugly, cluttered. Not pleasant.
  - Didn't like it.
~~Anchorpoint~~ .
- For Windows and Mac.
- It's free for GitHub. For other platforms it is paid monthly. Some features are locked: Pricing .
- Marketed as "Git for non-programmers".
- *About:
  - It's officially an 'Asset manager' with git capabilities.
  - Using Anchorpoint, GitHub and Godot together .
- *When testing:
  - I found the interface a bit weird and odd. It tries to create a new 'workflow', but I found it more confusing than normal git.
  - It didn't feel plug-and-play. It's simply confusing and doesn't seem like 'git'. Pretty strange.
  - I tried downloading the app a second time. It's simply very bad, don't be fooled by the video about 'Anchor, GitHub and Godot'. The app is buggy, irresponsible, confusing. It's on free-trial.
  - It's a heavy and unnecessary app. Nothing simple. Nothing practical.
  - Don't use it.
~~Glint~~ .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- "Upgrade to Premium for bonus features: Features ".
- Couldn't find any video about it.
- *When testing:
  - Didn't like the layout much. I felt it occupies more space than it should, showing too much information at once.
  - The main history view left me confused. Didn't like it.
  - Does not auto-stage changes.
  - The Discard Changes button is huge and next to the Stage option; that gives me a lot of discomfort.
  - Also, I dislike the locked features (aka tab limits).
~~Gitnuro~~ .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Couldn't find any video about it.
- *When testing:
  - Found the layout unpleasant to the eyes and uninteresting. Reminded me of SourceTree's design; very boring.
  - Although the interface is minimalist, I found it confusing. Couldn't find the merge option.
  - Has an interface very similar to Glint, but Glint is better.
  - Does not auto-stage changes, which I find a bit annoying.
~~GittyUp~~ .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Couldn't find any video about it.
- Open Source.
- *When testing:
  - Found the interface quite ugly, dated and confusing.
  - Preferred to use GitHub Desktop.
~~GitExtensions~~ .
- For Windows.
- Has a very old-looking visual.
~~GitForce~~ .
- For Windows and Linux.
- Ultra old, wow.
~~SublimeMerge~~ .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- Can be evaluated for free, but inevitably you need to buy the license. The license only covers 3 years of updates.
~~Fork~~ .
- For Windows and Mac.
- Trial period, followed by a one-time purchase (for 1 person and 3 machines).
~~TortoiseGit~~ .
- For Windows.
- It's basically a terminal wrapper.
- It's very ugly.
~~GitTower~~ .
- For Windows and Mac.
- 30-day trial period, followed by an annual subscription.
~~SmartGit~~ .
- For Windows, Linux and Mac.
- It's free, but you need to buy a license for commercial use: app definition .
- Found the app terribly ugly.

Git

CLI Commands

Logging

Navigate

Git Log

Submodules

Etc

Conventions

Stuff

Tag

Patch

Archive

Gitignore

Links

How to stop tracking a directory/file that was previously an exception in .gitignore

Security

Access Tokens

SSH Keys

Advanced Security

Gitattributes

Providers

GitHub

Storage

Account types

Solution for 'group privacy' with GitHub Free (Organization + Fork)

See which private repositories I contribute to

GitClients

Terminal-based

LazyGit

Magit

Cong

GitCola

GUIs