My Git Cheatsheet

I’ve put this Git Cheatsheet together to help me with my ageing memory. Git is a software tool designed to keep track of changes to files using a process known as version control. Version control tools such as Git allow you to work on files whether they be documents, computer source code or web pages while keeping a history of changes as you work. It allows you to work collaboratively with teams on sets of files without stepping on one anothers feet. Git achieves this through the uds of branching and merging. Branching simply means making a copy of the main set of files and working and making changes to the copy instead of risking messing up the main version. When you’re happy that the branched version is working, you can then merge the changes back to the main version.

Git has loads of commands, mainly entered via the windows command line or bash if you’re using Linux. A Git cheatsheet therefore will help me, and you to quickly find those commands I’ve found most useful.

Merging

Always start from the branch you wish to Merge into
>git checkout

Merge an Entire Branch with Another Branch

>git merge <source branch name>

Merge a Single File into the Target Branch

>git checkout <source branch name> <source file directory>/ <source file name>

Merge Multiple Files into the Target Branch

>git checkout <source branch name> <source file directory 1> <source file name 1> <source file directory 1> <source file name 2> <source file directory 2> <source file name 3>

Merge Multiple Files into the Target Branch Using Wildcard

>git checkout <source branch name> <source file directory> <part of source file name preceded or followed by *>

e.g. The following command would merge the files large_layout2.xml, small_layout5.xml and default_layout12.xml
>git checkout updated_version src/code/*layout*.xml

Syncing a fork

Sync a fork of a repository to keep it up-to-date with the upstream repository.

1. Open TerminalTerminalGit Bash.

2. List the current configured remote repository for your fork.

   git remote -v
   origin  https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_FORK.git (fetch)
   origin  https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_FORK.git (push)
   

3. Specify a new remote upstream repository that will be synced with the fork.

   git remote add upstream https://github.com/ORIGINAL_OWNER/ORIGINAL_REPOSITORY.git
   

4. Verify the new upstream repository you’ve specified for your fork.

   git remote -v
   origin    https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_FORK.git (fetch)
   origin    https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_FORK.git (push)
   upstream  https://github.com/ORIGINAL_OWNER/ORIGINAL_REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
   upstream  https://github.com/ORIGINAL_OWNER/ORIGINAL_REPOSITORY.git (push)
   

5. Fetch the branches and their respective commits from the upstream repository. Commits to master will be stored in a local branch, upstream/master.

   git fetch upstream
   remote: Counting objects: 75, done.
   remote: Compressing objects: 100% (53/53), done.
   remote: Total 62 (delta 27), reused 44 (delta 9)
   Unpacking objects: 100% (62/62), done.
   From https://github.com/ORIGINAL_OWNER/ORIGINAL_REPOSITORY
    * [new branch]      master     -> upstream/master
   

6. Check out your fork’s local master branch.

   git checkout master
   Switched to branch 'master'
   

7. Merge the changes from upstream/master into your local master branch. This brings your fork’s master branch into sync with the upstream repository, without losing your local changes.

   git merge upstream/master
   Updating a422352..5fdff0f
   Fast-forward
    README                    |    9 -------
    README.md                 |    7 ++++++
    2 files changed, 7 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
    delete mode 100644 README
    create mode 100644 README.md
   

   If your local branch didn’t have any unique commits, Git will instead perform a “fast-forward”:

   git merge upstream/master
   Updating 34e91da..16c56ad
   Fast-forward
    README.md                 |    5 +++--
    1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)