Git commands I use daily (cheatsheet)

Most Git tutorials throw an encyclopedia at you. But in reality, you’ll use the same ~10 commands every single day.

Here’s my no-fluff daily cheatsheet.

1. The absolute basics
   bash
   git clone # Download a repo
   git status # What changed?
   git add . # Stage everything
   git commit -m "fix: message" # Save changes


2. Working with remotes
   bash
   git pull --rebase # Get latest changes (cleaner history)
   git push # Upload your commits
   git fetch # See what changed without merging


3. Branching (daily)
   bash
   git branch # List branches (* = current)
   git checkout -b feat/x # Create + switch to new branch
   git switch main # Switch to main (newer syntax)
   git branch -d old-branch # Delete local branch


4. Fixing mistakes (no panic)
   bash
   git commit --amend -m "new message" # Edit last commit
   git reset HEAD~1 # Undo last commit (keep changes)
   git restore file.js # Discard unstaged changes
   git restore --staged . # Unstage everything


5. Seeing what happened
   bash
   git log --oneline --graph # Pretty commit tree
   git diff # Unstaged changes
   git diff --staged # Staged changes


6. The one "advanced" command I use daily
   bash
   git reflog # Show EVERYTHING you did (undo any mistake)
   Pro tip: Aliases
   Add these to ~/.gitconfig:

bash

git config --global alias.co checkout

git config --global alias.br branch

git config --global alias.st status

git config --global alias.lg "log --oneline --graph"

Now git st, git co main, git lg — saves hours.

Bottom line: You don’t need 50 commands. Master these, and you’re productive.

What’s your most-used Git command? 👇