There are 4 main locations where our code lives in Git:
- Local directory: Where we actively edit files locally.
- The staging area: Temporary spot for holding changes for commiting.
- The local repository: Where we store commited changes locally.
- Remote repository: A server like Github for sharing and backing up code.
git config: Used to setup configurations like name, email id. Should be provided as soon as git is installed.
git diff: Shows differences between changes made on a file.
git log: See previous commits taken place in git project in reverse chronological order.
git init: Creates an empty .git folder in local working directory.
git reset: Used to undo the local changes that are made to the state of a git repo. Three forms: --soft, --mixed, --hard.
git rebase: Used to integrate changes from one branch to another.
Git commands move files across these locations.
First step is to clone a repo with git clone.
git clone: Files are copied from remote repository to local repository, complete with all its history.
git checkout: Files are copied from local repository to local working directory, where you edit your code.
git add: To stage a snapshot of the files to the staging area.
git commit: Takes a snapshot of the staging area and save s it to local repository.
When you are ready to collaborate with the team, you can git push to a remote repository in Github or Bitbucket or gitlab.
git push -u origin master: Here master is the branch name.
Collaboration in git is a two-way exchange. Use git pull to fetch changes from the remote repository and merges them to your local repository.
It combines two commands, git fetch which fetches the code from remote repo to local repo, and git merge which integrates these updates with your code.
git status: Can check for changes or untracked files in current working directory. Simply shows what is happening with git add and git commit.
There are times when you need to switch context to fix a bug on another branch.
This is where you use git checkout or git switch comes in.
git checkout master: Means we are switching to master branch in local repo.
Allows you to switch between branches to work on specific features.
Allows to diverge from the main codebase to develop a new feature without impacting the main code.
Create a new branch with git branch.
git branch vlrBranch: Creates vlrBranch in repo.
git branch -v: Shows the current branch.
Switch to a branch with git switch.
Merge branches with git merge and resolving merge conflicts when changes overlap.
Branching allows isolated development and collaboration workflows.
Some people use GUI like Github Desktop or SourceTree, which provides shortcuts and visual feedback that can help new users get familiar with git.