Git · Cheatsheet

Git Cheatsheet — Daily Commands + Rescue Operations

Everyday git, plus the rescue commands you'll Google at 2 AM: reflog, cherry-pick, interactive rebase, and how to un-break a force-push.

Updated 2026-05-21 9 min

Setup & config

git config --global user.name 'You'	Set author name
git config --global user.email 'you@x.com'	Set author email
git config --global init.defaultBranch main	Default branch = main
git config --global pull.rebase true	Rebase on pull (no merge bubbles)
git config --global core.autocrlf input	Linux line endings on commit
git config --global alias.lg 'log --oneline --graph --all'	Pretty log alias

git switch -c feature/x	Create + checkout branch
git branch -a	List all branches (local + remote)
git branch -d feature/x	Delete merged branch
git branch -D feature/x	Force delete
git push origin --delete feature/x	Delete remote branch
git fetch -p	Fetch + prune stale remote refs

git add -p	Stage hunks interactively (review every change)
git commit -m 'feat: x' -m 'body'	Subject + body in one line
git commit --amend --no-edit	Add staged files to last commit
git commit --fixup <sha>	Marked for autosquash on rebase
git restore --staged file	Unstage without losing changes
git restore file	Discard local edits (DANGER)

git rebase main	Replay your commits on top of main
git rebase -i HEAD~5	Interactive: squash, reword, drop, reorder
git rebase --autosquash -i main	Apply --fixup commits automatically
git merge --no-ff feature/x	Force a merge commit (preserves history)
git rebase --continue / --abort	After resolving conflicts

git stash push -m 'wip'	Stash with message
git stash list / pop / apply	List / restore + delete / restore + keep
git cherry-pick <sha>	Apply one commit onto current branch
git cherry-pick -x <sha>	Adds 'cherry picked from' to message
git tag -a v1.0 -m 'release'	Annotated tag
git push origin v1.0	Push a single tag

git log --oneline --graph --all	Visual history
git log -S 'searchText'	Find commits adding/removing that string
git log -p file	Per-line history of a file
git blame file	Who last touched each line
git diff --stat	Files changed + insertions/deletions
git show <sha>	Patch for a single commit

git reflog	Time machine — every HEAD move, even after reset
git reset --hard HEAD@{2}	Jump back to a reflog state
git reset --soft HEAD~1	Undo last commit, keep changes staged
git reset --mixed HEAD~1	Undo last commit, unstage changes
git reset --hard origin/main	Discard everything, match remote (DANGER)
git revert <sha>	Create a NEW commit that undoes <sha>
git checkout <sha> -- file	Restore single file from a past commit
git fsck --lost-found	Find dangling commits/blobs (after force-push)
git push --force-with-lease	Force push BUT abort if remote moved

git worktree add ../hotfix main	Check out main in a sibling folder
git worktree list / remove	Manage worktrees
git submodule update --init --recursive	Pull submodule contents

Cloudadhar batches walk you through every command in a real production setup — with labs, code reviews, and 1:1 doubt sessions.