Git Cheatsheets for Quick Reference

A shell is a program whose primary purpose is to read commands and run other programs.

This lesson uses Bash, the default shell in many implementations of Unix.

Programs can be run in Bash by entering commands at the command-line prompt.

The shell’s main advantages are its high action-to-keystroke ratio, its support for automating repetitive tasks, and its capacity to access networked machines.

A significant challenge when using the shell can be knowing what commands need to be run and how to run them.

The file system is responsible for managing information on the disk.

Information is stored in files, which are stored in directories (folders).

Directories can also store other directories, which then form a directory tree.

pwd prints the user’s current working directory.

ls [path] prints a listing of a specific file or directory; ls on its own lists the current working directory.

cd [path] changes the current working directory.

Most commands take options that begin with a single -.

Directory names in a path are separated with / on Unix, but \ on Windows.

/ on its own is the root directory of the whole file system.

An absolute path specifies a location from the root of the file system.

A relative path specifies a location starting from the current location.

. on its own means ‘the current directory’; .. means ‘the directory above the current one’.

cp [old] [new] copies a file.

mkdir [path] creates a new directory.

mv [old] [new] moves (renames) a file or directory.

rm [path] removes (deletes) a file.

* matches zero or more characters in a filename, so *.txt matches all files ending in .txt.

? matches any single character in a filename, so ?.txt matches a.txt but not any.txt.

Use of the Control key may be described in many ways, including Ctrl-X, Control-X, and ^X.

The shell does not have a trash bin: once something is deleted, it’s really gone.

Most files’ names are something.extension. The extension isn’t required, and doesn’t guarantee anything, but is normally used to indicate the type of data in the file.

Depending on the type of work you do, you may need a more powerful text editor than Nano.

Version control is like an unlimited ‘undo’.

Version control also allows many people to work in parallel.

Use git config with the --global option to configure a user name, email address, editor, and other preferences once per machine.

git init initializes a repository.

Git stores all of its repository data in the .git directory.

git status shows the status of a repository.

Files can be stored in a project’s working directory (which users see), the staging area (where the next commit is being built up) and the local repository (where commits are permanently recorded).

git add puts files in the staging area.

git commit saves the staged content as a new commit in the local repository.

Write a commit message that accurately describes your changes.

git diff displays differences between commits.

git checkout recovers old versions of files.

The .gitignore file tells Git what files to ignore.

A local Git repository can be connected to one or more remote repositories.

Use the SSH protocol to connect to remote repositories.

git push copies changes from a local repository to a remote repository.

git pull copies changes from a remote repository to a local repository.

Conflicts occur when two or more people change the same lines of the same file.

The version control system does not allow people to overwrite each other’s changes blindly, but highlights conflicts so that they can be resolved.

Branches allow you to work on multiple parts of your repo at once, without disrupting the main/working version.

Branches are very helpful for both solo and collaborative work.

Using VSCode’s Git integration allows you to forget all the git command syntax and focus on work.