Git Quick Start

Cheat Sheet

Stosh Oldham [email protected]

Git Introduction and Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Git Installation and Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Creating a Repository and Adding Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Ignoring Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Branching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Merging and Pushing Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Git Introduction and Architecture

• The git program is a source control tool created by Linus Torvalds.

• Simply stated, git manages content snapshots, checksums, and metadata to keep track of
changes in files.

• Some basic terminology (we will go into more detail as we work through!):

– Each state is known as a commit.

• This course covers the basics to get you up and running with Git.

• More detailed information as well as more advanced topics can be found in Linux Academy’s
Source Control with Git course.

Git Installation and Configuration

• To install Git:

– sudo yum install git or sudo apt-get install git

• Git configuration may be managed using git config:

– git config --global user.name <username>

– git config --global user.email <email_addr>

– git config --system core.editor vim

• Alternatively, you may store system-wide configuration values in the file directly:

– /etc/gitconfig which corresponds to --system

– ~/.gitconfig or ~/.config/git/config which corresponds to --global

– .git/config in a repository which corresponds to --local

– Note: Files lower in the list override files higher in the list.
– File Example:

[user]
name = john smith
email = [email protected]

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Creating a Repository and Adding Content

• Use git init <repo-directory> to create or “initialize” a new repository in the specified di-
rectory.

– The init subcommand will create a .git directory in the repository used for Git metadata
(see Git Deep Dive course for more information).

• git add <filename> may be used to indicate relevant files for tracking in the repository.

• Tracking information on files within the directory may be obtained using git status.

• Once all relevant changes have been noted, run git commit -m "text describing changes"
to commit the changes to the repository.

• If a file no longer requires tracking, the command git rm <file> may be used to stop tracking
a provided file.

Ignoring Content

• Sometimes there are artifacts in your project which are transient or do not otherwise need
to be tracked in source control.

• There is a mechanism to have certain files disregarded for source control purposes.

• The file .gitignore (local to a repository or system global) may contain a list of file names or
patterns which Git will ignore.

• It is also possible to exclude certain paths using:

– git config --global core.exludesfile <path>

Cloning

• Typically, the repository of record is not used for “working” purposes.

• Changes to source are managed either in a separate branch or a remote repository.

• Git repositories may be cloned or have branches.

• It is possible to clone a repository locally on the file system using:

– git clone <path_of_original> <clone_repo_location>

• Git also supports cloning over SSH and HTTP/S.

– Clone over SSH:

* git clone user@server:<original_repo_path_relative_to_user_home> <local_repo_path>

– Clone over HTTPS:

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* git clone https://github.com/username/reponame <local_repo_path>

• The cloned repository keeps repository logs separately making the origin repository log less
cluttered.

• After local work is complete, the changes may be pushed back to the origin repository using:

– git push origin master

• Branching achieves a similar effect within a single repository (more information in branching
section).

Branching

• Branching allows you to create an effective copy of the master branch within the repository
that can be worked on without interfering with the master.

• This declutters the master branch.

• Branching tends to be an expensive operation in other source control tools but it is incredibly
efficient in Git.

• Branches can be merged back into the master branch when work is complete.

• How to:

– Create a branch:

* git branch <new branch>

– Begin working in the new branch:

* git checkout <branch>

– Do both at once:

* git checkout -b <new branch>

• It is also possible to branch from an existing branch.

Logging

• git log will print information regarding commits and changes within the repository.

• An abbreviated change log can be listed using:

– git log --oneline

• More detailed log information may be viewed with:

– git log -p

• It is also possible to look at information on a particular file:

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– git log -- <filename>

– git log --oneline <filename>

• To have a graph printed, you can use the --graph and --decorate options:

– git log --graph --decorate

– Note: This is particularity useful when you have multiple branches.

Merging and Pushing Updates

• Branches may be pushed to remote sources, just like master.

• How to push branches to origin:

– git push origin --all

• Merging brings branches together (must be in the branch you are merging into):

– git merge <target branch>

• Merging branches where files may have changed in diverging ways is called a merge conflict
(see the Git Deep Dive for more on this).