Git Cheat Sheet

The 20% of Git that covers 80% of the work — plus the handful of recovery commands that turn "I broke everything" into a two-minute fix.

Everyday flow

git status                      # what's changed
git add -p                      # stage hunks interactively
git commit -m "feat: add search"
git pull --rebase               # avoid noisy merge commits
git push

Branching

Command	Does
`git switch -c feature/x`	Create and switch to a branch
`git switch main`	Switch back
`git branch -d feature/x`	Delete a merged branch
`git branch -D feature/x`	Force-delete an unmerged branch

Undoing things

The difference between --soft, --mixed and --hard is what happens to your changes. --hard throws work away — be sure before you run it.

git commit --amend               # fix the last commit message or add staged files
git restore --staged file.ts     # unstage, keep changes
git restore file.ts              # discard uncommitted changes to a file
git reset --soft HEAD~1          # undo last commit, keep changes staged
git reset --mixed HEAD~1         # undo last commit, keep changes unstaged
git reset --hard HEAD~1          # undo last commit AND discard changes

Stashing

git stash                # shelve changes
git stash pop            # bring them back
git stash list           # see the stack
git stash -u             # include untracked files

The panic button: reflog

git reflog records every position HEAD has been at, even after a "destructive" reset. Almost nothing is truly lost for ~90 days.

git reflog                       # find the SHA you were at before the mistake
git reset --hard abc1234         # jump back to it

Rewriting history (local branches only)

git rebase -i HEAD~3             # squash, reorder or reword the last 3 commits
git cherry-pick abc1234         # copy a single commit onto the current branch

Never rewrite history that others have already pulled. Rebasing a shared branch forces everyone else into a painful recovery.