A Beginner's Guide to Git: Understanding the Git Lifecycle and Common Commands
— version control, git — 4 min read
Git is a distributed version control system that allows developers to track and manage changes to their codebase. Git provides a wide range of features that help developers to collaborate and work on a project more efficiently. In this article, we will discuss some of the common Git commands that developers use on a daily basis.
Before we dive into the commands, let's first discuss the Git lifecycle.
The Git Lifecycle
The Git lifecycle consists of four stages: the working directory, staging area, local Git repository, and remote Git repository.
Working Directory
The working directory is the directory on your computer where you create and modify files.
Staging Area
The staging area is a temporary storage area where you can prepare your changes before you commit them. It allows you to selectively add changes to your commit, instead of committing all the changes in your working directory.
Local Git Repository
The local Git repository is where Git stores all the committed changes. It serves as a complete history of all the changes made to the project.
Remote Git Repository
The remote Git repository is a copy of the local Git repository that is stored on a remote server. This allows multiple developers to collaborate on the same project, and keep their code in sync.
Common Git Commands
git init
The git init command initializes a new Git repository. It creates a new .git directory in your working directory, which contains all the necessary files for Git to operate.
git clone
The git clone command creates a local copy of a remote Git repository. It allows you to work on the project locally and push your changes to the remote repository when you are ready.
git remote
The git remote command allows you to manage the remote repositories that your local repository is connected to. You can use this command to add, remove, or rename remote repositories.
git fetch
The git fetch command downloads the latest changes from a remote repository, but it does not merge them with your local copy. It is useful when you want to see the latest changes made to a remote repository without merging them with your local copy.
git pull
The git pull command downloads the latest changes from a remote repository and merges them with your local copy. It is useful when you want to update your local copy with the latest changes from a remote repository.
git checkout
The git checkout command is used to switch between different branches or commits. It allows you to move between different versions of your codebase.
git branch
The git branch command allows you to manage Git branches. You can use this command to create, delete, rename, or list branches.
git add
The git add command adds changes to the staging area. You can use this command to selectively add changes to your commit.
git commit
The git commit command creates a new commit with the changes in the staging area. You can use this command to save your changes and create a new version of your codebase.
git push
The git push command pushes your local changes to a remote repository. It is used to share your changes with other developers.
git merge
The git merge command merges changes from one branch into another. It is used to combine changes made in different branches.
git stash
The git stash command saves your changes to a temporary stash, allowing you to switch to a different branch without committing your changes. You can later apply your changes to the new branch.
git status
The git status command shows the current status of your repository. It shows which changes are staged, which changes are not staged, and which files are untracked. This command is useful when you need to see what changes have been made to the files in your repository and what changes still need to be staged or committed.
git log
The git log command shows the commit history of your repository. It shows a list of all the commits that have been made, in reverse chronological order. This command is useful when you need to see what changes have been made to your repository over time.
Final Thoughts
These are just some of the common commands that you will use frequently when working with Git. By understanding how these commands work and how they fit into the Git lifecycle, you will be able to more effectively manage your code repositories and collaborate with other developers. As you become more experienced with Git, you will likely discover other commands and features that are useful for your workflow.