Git Introduction¶

A comprehensive overview of Git concepts, workflows, and fundamental operations.

How Git Works¶

Git tracks changes through a series of snapshots. Here's a visual representation of how data flows through Git's core components:

flowchart LR
    subgraph "Local Environment"
        A[Working Directory]
        B[Staging Area Index]
        C[Local Repository .git directory]
    end

    subgraph "Remote Environment"
        D[Remote Repository e.g. GitHub/GitLab]
    end

    A -->|git add| B
    B -->|git commit| C
    C -->|git push| D
    D -->|git pull| C
    C -->|git checkout| A

How to Use This Guide¶

• Browse by Topic: Use the Table of Contents to find specific git operations
• Quick Copy: All commands are formatted for easy copy-pasting
• Detailed Pages: Click section links for comprehensive guides on each topic
• Workflow Reference: Refer to the workflow diagrams for common git patterns

Getting Started: Core Basics¶

Repository Initialization¶

Initialize a new git repository:

git init

Clone an existing repository:

git clone <repo-url>

Set user identity (global):

git config --global user.name "Your Name"

git config --global user.email "your@email"

Ignoring & Keeping Files¶

Add a .gitignore file:

Defines intentionally untracked files to ignore.

touch .gitignore

Track an otherwise empty directory (with .gitkeep):

Create directory:

mkdir -p some/empty/dir

Create .gitkeep file:

touch some/empty/dir/.gitkeep

Note: .gitkeep is not built-in but is a common convention.

Basic Git Workflow¶

Stage changes:

Stage specific file:

git add <filename>

Stage all changes:

git add .

Commit changes:

Commit with message:

git commit -m "Descriptive message"

Add and commit tracked files in one step:

git commit -am "Add and commit in one step"

Check status:

Full status:

git status

Short format:

git status -s

View changes:

Unstaged changes:

git diff

Staged changes:

git diff --staged

Common Git Workflows¶

Feature Branch Workflow¶

Common in team environments where features are developed in isolation.

gitGraph
    commit id: "main"
    branch feature
    checkout feature
    commit id: "work"
    commit id: "more work"
    checkout main
    merge feature
    commit id: "release"

Gitflow Workflow¶

A structured branching model with dedicated branches for development, features, releases, and hotfixes.

gitGraph
    commit id: "initial"
    branch develop
    checkout develop
    commit id: "dev work"
    branch feature
    checkout feature
    commit id: "feature work"
    checkout develop
    merge feature
    branch release
    checkout release
    commit id: "release prep"
    checkout main
    merge release
    checkout develop
    merge release
    branch hotfix
    checkout hotfix
    commit id: "urgent fix"
    checkout main
    merge hotfix
    checkout develop
    merge hotfix

Forking Workflow¶

Popular in open source projects, where contributors fork the main repository.

gitGraph
    commit id: "initial commit"
    branch upstream/main
    checkout upstream/main
    commit id: "upstream work"
    branch fork/main
    checkout fork/main
    commit id: "fork created"
    commit id: "clone locally"
    branch feature
    checkout feature
    commit id: "work"
    commit id: "more work"
    checkout fork/main
    merge feature id: "merge to fork"
    checkout upstream/main
    commit id: "upstream changes"
    merge fork/main id: "PR merged"