Basics of Git

A quick-reference page for Git concepts and commands used throughout this guide. If you're new to Git, start with the Version Control Lab for a guided walkthrough before using these pages as reference.

Before continuing

Make sure Workstation Setup is complete before following the procedures in this guide.

Terms

Keyword	Description
Branch	Pointer to a commit - see Branching Strategies
Cache	Local memory intended to temporarily store uncommitted changes
CLI	Command Line Interface
Commit	Stores the current contents of the index in a new commit along with a log message
Directory	Folder in file system
HEAD	Pointer to the most recent commit on the current branch
Index	The cache where changes are stored before they are committed
Local Repository	Where you keep your copy of a Git repository on your workstation
Main	Default name of the first branch
Merge	Joining two or more commit histories
Pull Request	GitHub-specific term to let others know about changes you've pushed to a branch - see Create a Branch and Pull Request
Remote Repository	A repository where you push changes for collaboration or backup
Stash	Another cache, acting as a stack, where changes can be stored without committing
Working tree	Current branch in your workspace

Common Git Commands

Command	Description
add	Track files
branch	List branches
checkout	Create a new branch or switch to another
clone	Download a remote repository
commit	Save files to local branch
config	Configure Git settings
remote	Configure or list remote repositories
merge	Merge another branch into the current branch
pull	Fetch and merge changes from remote
push	Send committed changes to remote
status	List changed files

bash — ~

$ git status
$ git checkout my-branch
$ git pull origin main

Common Shell Commands

Command	Description
cd	Change directory
ls	List files in current directory
mkdir	Make new directory
pwd	Print working directory