Basic Commands

These are the core commands you will use in your everyday development loop, from grabbing the latest code to publishing your changes.

Before starting new work, always ensure your local repository is up to date with the remote server.

git fetch: Downloads new data from the remote repository but does not integrate it into your working files. Great for seeing what others have been working on without altering your current code.
git fetch --all: Downloads new data from all configured remote repositories. This is especially useful if your project uses multiple remotes (for example, an origin for your fork and an upstream for the main open-source repository).
git pull: Downloads new data from the remote repository and immediately merges it into your current working branch. (Essentially git fetch + git merge).
git pull origin dev: Specifically pulls the latest commits from the dev branch on the origin remote, and merges them into whatever local branch you are currently on. This is highly useful when you are working on a feature branch and need to sync it up with the latest baseline development code.

git status: Your most used command. It shows the current state of your working directory (which branch you are on, what files are modified, and what is staged for the next commit).
git diff: Shows the exact lines of code you have changed that are not yet staged.
git diff --staged: Shows the exact lines of code you have changed that are staged and ready to be committed.

git add <file-name>: Stages a specific modified file.
git add .: A massive time-saver. Stages all modified and new files in the current directory and its subdirectories.
git commit -m "Your descriptive message": Wraps up all your staged changes into a new, permanent snapshot in your local history.

git branch: Lists all your local branches. The branch you are currently on will be highlighted with an asterisk (*).
git switch <branch-name>: Moves you to an existing branch. (Note: git checkout <branch-name> does the exact same thing and is widely used).
git switch -c <new-branch-name>: Creates a brand new branch and immediately switches you to it.

git push: Uploads your local commits to the remote repository (like GitHub or GitLab) so others can see and pull your work.
git push -u origin <branch-name>: Used the very first time you push a newly created local branch to the remote server. It sets up the tracking connection.

git log: Shows a list of all commits on your current branch.
git log --oneline: A condensed version of git log that shows just the commit hash and the subject line, making it much easier to scan.