Some lesser Known Git Commands

Git is a version control system used widely for source code management. But before exploring some less known git commands have a look at some of the most commonly used commands here. Go have a look, I will wait!!!

Ah, You are back. So, lets get into some awesome less known git commands.


Git Short Log :

Get a summarized 'git log' output.
It returns the commit logs grouped by author.

git shortlog  

Git Reverting :

Revert the existing commits and add new changes and commits to the reverted record.
Useful for reverting the faulty commits made.

git revert HEAD~2 

Revert the changes specified by 3rd last commit in HEAD and create a new commit with reverted record/changes.

git revert -n master~4..master~1

Revert the changes specified from 5th Last commit in HEAD to the 2nd Last commit in HEAD  and do not create a new commit with reverted changes.

Git CITOOL :

A graphical alternative to git commit.

git citool

Git Diffing :

Equivalent to diff command in Linux.
Shows the diff or changes between the commits or a commit and a working tree.
Extremely handy for getting to know the changes made to the commit or a working tree.

git diff

For further details for the diff command : Go here


Git Greping : 

Equivalent to grep command in Linux.
This searches your current directory for a pattern and prints the lines matching the pattern.
Extremely helpful for searching a particular keyword or pattern in your working directory.

git grep #define

Searches for the pattern #define in the current working got directory and prints all the lines matching #define.


Git Notes :

Adds, removes, or reads notes attached to objects, without touching the objects themselves.
They are used for adding information to commits which was not available during commiting.

git notes add -m 'Tested by Rajeev N B'

This command adds notes to the last commit. You can also specify the commit you want notes to be added.

git show -s 

Shows the notes added to the commit.


Git Stashing :

Stash your current changes of the directory away in a dirty local directory.
It record your current state and index and takes you back to a clean working directory. It copies your local modifications away.

git stash list

To list the stashed changes away.

git stash apply

To apply the stashed changes.

git stash

To stash the changes to some directory. Equivalent to git stash save


Git Blaming :

This is one of most useful, least known command.
This basically lists what revision or author modified each line of code.

git blame 

Lists a detailed list specifying what revision and author modified each line of code in the file name.


Git Bisecting :

Uses binary search, to find a change that introduced a bug.
Extremely helpful in tracking down the change that had lead to a bug.

git bisect

Has a lot of sub commands and options.
Check the complete explanation here


Git Rebasing :

Forward-port local commits to the updated upstream head.
More can be found here.

That's all for now.
Keep Hacking!!!

For any Doubts/ Clarifications/Feedback write to me @

 rajeevrvis@gmail.com

or Connect me on Twitter @rBharshetty

Git : A Version Control System

Git is a distributed Version control and Source code management system. It was designed by Linus Torvalds ( The Brain behind Linux Kernel ). It is used widely in management of Source code of a project.

Extremely helpful when an application is being developed by more than one developer. Each developer will be updated about all the changes carried out to the source code by other developers.

This article takes a simplified approach of explaining the basic commands used in Git .

Lets get started.

Git Configuring :

Before you start using Git , you need to configure the Git such as setting up Name , Email , Key etc. Use

$ git config --global user.name "My Name"

$ git config --global user.email "user@domain.com"

Git Initialization :

To work with Git , you need to initialize the repository.

Just move into the directory you want to initialize and use.

 $ git init 

Git Staging :

After initialization of the repository (directory) , you need to stage the files. You can consider Git to have 3 stages : Unstaged , Staged and Committed. Stage the files using (If you want to stage all the files in the directory) :

$ git add *

else if for staging individual files use :

$ git add file-name

else for staging multiple files use :

$ git add file-name1 file-name2 filename3

Git Committing :

After staging of the files, you need to commit them. Committing the files means you are ready to push the files to either a local or a remote repository. To commit the files , you should always first stage those files. For committing use (-m option is used to put some commit message) :

$ git commit -m "Commit Message"

Git Pushing to a Remote Repository :

Usually after the committing the files, you would like to push it to some remote repository for other developers to collaborate. To set up a remote repository you have add that remote repository. ( Usually we use either github or bitbucket ). Create an account in either of those sites and create a repository. Then use  (Test is the name of the remote repository):

$ git remote add origin https://github.com/rShetty/Test.git

$ git push -u origin master 

After adding the remote repository use the "git push" command to push your committed files to the remote repository. That is all you have to do for putting your code to a remote repository.

Git Checking Status :

At any time while using Git,If you need to check the status of the files. You can use :

$ git status 

This command gives you the status of your files like ( Staged , Not Staged or Committed or Modified etc ).

Git Cloning :

Git cloning is making copying of the remote repository onto your local machine. To clone a Remote repository use :

$ git clone git@github.com:username/test.git

Git Branching :

Whenever you initialize a git repository, a Master Branch is created for you to work on. In some cases, where you want to try some stuff on your code and don't want to disturb your code in Master branch, you can create branches using

$ git branch branch-name

and can shift to that branch using :

$ git checkout branch-name 

The above two commands can be collapsed into a single one , Using this you will create a new branch and shift to it.

$ git checkout -b branch-name

Git Merging :

So here you have tried some cool new feature in a branch and it does work fine and you want to integrate that feature into the main branch (Master). To Integrate the changes you need to merge the branches as :

$ git merge

Git Pulling and Fetching :

You use :

$ git fetch origin

When you want to fetch all the objects which are not there in your local repository.

and

$ git pull origin

To fetch the files from the remote repository and merging it to the local one.

Git Logging :

Git Log is used to check the logs of your commits, changes etc you made over a period of time. It provides complete information of various commits , branches and the person responsible for the same.

$ git log

or

$ git log -n 10

To see the last 10 git log commits.

Git Tagging :

Provides a Tag to commit you made with a simple Human readable handle.

$ git tag -a v1.0 -m 'Version 1.0'

Git Undoing Changes :

A lot of times we stage files which we should not have or we commit wrong files. To undo these Human errors, Git provides flexible and easy commands.

Use : If you want to unstage a file, which you have staged by mistake use the above command.

$ git reset HEAD file-name

Use : If you want to change your last commit.

$ git commit --amend

Use: If you want to undo all the changes you made to a file (Use this carefully)

$ git checkout -- file-name

GitK / GitX :

These are the UI based Git clients. GitK comes for Windows and Linux and GitX is for MAC. Install it and use as :

$ gitk

$ gitx 

That's all , These commands will keep you up running with Git. 

Git is a very Powerful and efficient tool . Use it Wisely .

Explore some lesser known git commands here :

For any Doubts/ Clarifications/Feedback write to me @

 rajeevrvis@gmail.com

or Connect me on Twitter @rBharshetty