ianalloway Git Helper
Quick reference for common git operations, workflows, and fixes.
Daily Workflow
# Start your day - pull latest changes
git pull origin main
# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/my-new-feature
# Stage and commit changes
git add -A
git commit -m "feat: add new feature"
# Push to remote
git push origin feature/my-new-feature
Commit Message Convention
Follow conventional commits for clean history:
# Format: type(scope): description
git commit -m "feat: add user authentication"
git commit -m "fix: resolve login redirect bug"
git commit -m "docs: update API documentation"
git commit -m "style: format code with prettier"
git commit -m "refactor: simplify database queries"
git commit -m "test: add unit tests for auth module"
git commit -m "chore: update dependencies"
Undo Mistakes
# Undo last commit (keep changes staged)
git reset --soft HEAD~1
# Undo last commit (keep changes unstaged)
git reset HEAD~1
# Discard all local changes
git checkout -- .
# Discard changes to specific file
git checkout -- path/to/file
# Undo a pushed commit (creates new commit)
git revert HEAD
# Amend last commit message
git commit --amend -m "new message"
Branch Management
# List all branches
git branch -a
# Delete local branch
git branch -d branch-name
# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete branch-name
# Rename current branch
git branch -m new-name
# Switch to previous branch
git checkout -
# Create branch from specific commit
git checkout -b new-branch abc1234
Stashing
# Stash current changes
git stash
# Stash with message
git stash push -m "work in progress on feature X"
# List stashes
git stash list
# Apply most recent stash
git stash pop
# Apply specific stash
git stash apply stash@{2}
# Drop a stash
git stash drop stash@{0}
Viewing History
# Pretty log
git log --oneline --graph --decorate -20
# Log with stats
git log --stat -5
# Search commits by message
git log --grep="bug fix"
# Show commits by author
git log --author="Ian"
# Show changes in commit
git show abc1234
# Blame a file (who changed what)
git blame path/to/file
Merging & Rebasing
# Merge branch into current
git merge feature-branch
# Rebase onto main (cleaner history)
git rebase main
# Interactive rebase (squash commits)
git rebase -i HEAD~3
# Abort a merge/rebase
git merge --abort
git rebase --abort
# Continue after resolving conflicts
git rebase --continue
Working with Remotes
# List remotes
git remote -v
# Add remote
git remote add upstream https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
# Fetch from all remotes
git fetch --all
# Pull from upstream
git pull upstream main
# Push to different remote
git push upstream feature-branch
Cherry Pick
# Apply specific commit to current branch
git cherry-pick abc1234
# Cherry pick without committing
git cherry-pick -n abc1234
# Cherry pick range of commits
git cherry-pick abc1234..def5678
Clean Up
# Remove untracked files (dry run)
git clean -n
# Remove untracked files
git clean -f
# Remove untracked files and directories
git clean -fd
# Prune remote tracking branches
git remote prune origin
# Garbage collect
git gc
Diff & Compare
# Show unstaged changes
git diff
# Show staged changes
git diff --staged
# Compare branches
git diff main..feature-branch
# Compare with remote
git diff origin/main
# Show changed files only
git diff --name-only
Tags
# Create tag
git tag v1.0.0
# Create annotated tag
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"
# Push tags
git push origin --tags
# Delete tag
git tag -d v1.0.0
git push origin --delete v1.0.0
Troubleshooting
# Fix "detached HEAD"
git checkout main
# Recover deleted branch
git reflog
git checkout -b recovered-branch abc1234
# Find lost commits
git fsck --lost-found
# Reset to remote state
git fetch origin
git reset --hard origin/main
Git Aliases
Add to ~/.gitconfig:
[alias]
co = checkout
br = branch
ci = commit
st = status
lg = log --oneline --graph --decorate -20
unstage = reset HEAD --
last = log -1 HEAD
amend = commit --amend --no-edit
Tips
- Always pull before starting new work
- Commit early and often
- Write meaningful commit messages
- Use branches for features/fixes
- Never force push to shared branches
- Review changes before committing with
git diff