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Git Workflow & Common Operations

This guide covers common day-to-day Git operations based on our actual usage patterns.

Daily Workflow​

Basic Workflow Sequence​

# 1. Check current status
git status

# 2. Add changes to staging
git add .

# 3. Commit changes
git commit -m "Descriptive commit message"

# 4. Push to remote
git push

# Or push and set upstream
git push -u origin main

Check Repository State​

# View status
git status

# View commit history
git log -1              # Last commit
git log -5              # Last 5 commits
git log --oneline       # Condensed view

# View branches
git branch              # Local branches
git branch -a           # All branches (including remote)

# View remotes
git remote -v

Staging and Committing​

Add Files to Staging​

# Add all changes
git add .

# Add specific file
git add README.md

# Add specific directory
git add src/

# Add multiple files
git add file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt

# Add with pattern
git add *.js

Commit Changes​

# Commit with message
git commit -m "Add new feature"

# Commit with detailed message
git commit -m "Add user authentication

- Implement JWT token generation
- Add login/logout endpoints
- Create middleware for auth verification"

# Amend last commit (don't change message)
git commit --amend --no-edit

# Amend last commit (change message)
git commit --amend -m "Updated commit message"

Combined Operations​

# Add and commit in one step
git add . && git commit -m "Update configuration files" && git push

Pushing Changes​

Basic Push​

# Push to current branch
git push

# Push and set upstream
git push -u origin main

# Set upstream explicitly
git push --set-upstream origin main

Force Push (Use with Caution)​

# Force push (overwrites remote)
git push -f origin main

# Safer force push (checks remote hasn't changed)
git push --force-with-lease origin main

Pulling Changes​

Basic Pull​

# Pull from remote
git pull

# Pull from specific branch
git pull origin main

# Pull with rebase
git pull origin main --rebase

Fetch and Merge​

# Fetch without merging
git fetch origin

# View what changed
git log HEAD..origin/main

# Merge fetched changes
git merge origin/main

Handling Conflicts​

Pull Conflicts​

# Attempt pull
git pull origin main

# If conflicts occur:
# 1. View conflicted files
git status

# 2. Edit files to resolve conflicts
vim conflicted-file.txt

# 3. Mark as resolved
git add conflicted-file.txt

# 4. Complete merge
git commit

Abort Merge/Rebase​

# Abort merge
git merge --abort

# Abort rebase
git rebase --abort

# Start over with reset
git fetch origin
git reset --hard origin/main

Real-World Examples from Our History​

Example 1: Simple Update and Push​

cd /home/rezriz/github/01-production/vps-management
git status
git add .
git commit -m "update config"
git push

Example 2: Add Documentation Files​

cd /home/rezriz/github/03-lab/AI-Agent/transfer-to-another-vps

git add GITHUB_SETUP.md PROJECT_SUMMARY.md setup_github_repo.sh
git commit -m "Add project documentation and setup scripts"
git push origin main

Example 3: Migrate Content​

cd /home/rezriz/github/01-production/vps-management

# Add migrated content
git add .
git commit -m "Migrate Docker deployment and app configurations from lab to production"
git push

Example 4: Remove Folder​

cd /home/rezriz/github/01-production/vps-management

# Remove directory from Git
git rm -r Docker
git commit -m "Remove Docker folder (moved to its own repository)"
git push

Example 5: Handle Push Failure​

cd /home/rezriz/github/01-production/vps-management

# Pull with rebase to integrate changes
git pull origin main --rebase

# Push after rebase
git push -u origin main

Example 6: Reset to Remote State​

cd /home/rezriz/github/01-production/vps-management

# Abort any ongoing operations
git rebase --abort

# Fetch latest
git fetch origin

# Hard reset to match remote
git reset --hard origin/main

# Make new changes
echo "# VPS Management" > README.md
git add README.md

# Amend and force push
git commit --amend --no-edit
git push -f origin main

Working with Branches​

Create and Switch Branches​

# Create new branch
git branch feature-branch

# Switch to branch
git checkout feature-branch

# Create and switch in one command
git checkout -b feature-branch

# Modern alternative (Git 2.23+)
git switch -c feature-branch

Merge Branches​

# Switch to main branch
git checkout main

# Merge feature branch
git merge feature-branch

# Delete merged branch
git branch -d feature-branch

Rename Branch​

# Rename current branch
git branch -m new-name

# Rename to 'main' (modern standard)
git branch -M main

Cloning Repositories​

Basic Clone​

# Clone via SSH (preferred)
cd /home/rezriz/github
git clone git@github.com:donnyaw/vps-management.git

# Clone via HTTPS
git clone https://github.com/donnyaw/restic-rclone.git

Clone to Specific Directory​

# Clone to custom directory name
git clone git@github.com:donnyaw/vps-management.git my-vps-tools

Post-Clone Setup​

# Navigate to cloned repository
cd restic-rclone

# Configure local user
git config user.email "donnyaw@gmail.com"
git config user.name "donnyaw"

# Check remote configuration
git remote -v

# Check branches
git branch -a

Inspecting Repository​

View Changes​

# View unstaged changes
git diff

# View staged changes
git diff --staged

# View changes in specific file
git diff README.md

# Compare branches
git diff main..feature-branch

View History​

# View commit log
git log

# Last commit details
git log -1

# Compact log
git log --oneline

# Graph view
git log --oneline --graph --decorate --all

# Show files changed in commit
git show HEAD

Undoing Changes​

Unstage Files​

# Unstage all files
git reset HEAD

# Unstage specific file
git reset HEAD README.md

Discard Local Changes​

# Discard changes in file
git checkout -- README.md

# Discard all changes
git checkout -- .

# Modern alternative
git restore README.md

Reset Commits​

# Soft reset (keep changes staged)
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Mixed reset (keep changes unstaged)
git reset HEAD~1

# Hard reset (discard all changes)
git reset --hard HEAD~1

# Reset to specific commit
git reset --hard abc123

Cleaning Repository​

Remove Untracked Files​

# Preview what will be removed
git clean -n

# Remove untracked files
git clean -f

# Remove untracked files and directories
git clean -fd

# Remove ignored files too
git clean -fdx

Advanced Operations​

Stash Changes​

# Stash current changes
git stash

# Stash with message
git stash save "Work in progress"

# List stashes
git stash list

# Apply stash
git stash apply

# Apply and remove stash
git stash pop

# Clear all stashes
git stash clear

Cherry-Pick Commits​

# Apply commit from another branch
git cherry-pick abc123

# Apply multiple commits
git cherry-pick abc123 def456

Interactive Rebase​

# Rebase last 3 commits
git rebase -i HEAD~3

# Actions in interactive rebase:
# pick   - use commit
# reword - change commit message
# edit   - amend commit
# squash - combine with previous
# drop   - remove commit

Useful Combined Commands​

Quick Commit and Push​

# Stage, commit, and push
git add . && \
git commit -m "Update documentation" && \
git push

Sync with Remote​

# Fetch, reset, and clean
git fetch origin && \
git reset --hard origin/main && \
git clean -fd

New Branch Workflow​

# Create branch, add changes, commit, push
git checkout -b feature/new-feature && \
git add . && \
git commit -m "Implement new feature" && \
git push -u origin feature/new-feature

Troubleshooting Commands​

Check What's Wrong​

# Comprehensive status
git status -v

# Check remote connection
git remote -v
git fetch --dry-run

# Verify SSH
ssh -T git@github.com

Fix Common Issues​

# Fix detached HEAD
git checkout main

# Fix "no upstream branch"
git push --set-upstream origin main

# Fix "pushed commit was rejected"
git pull --rebase origin main
git push

Git Ignore​

Create .gitignore​

# Create .gitignore file
cat > .gitignore << 'EOF'
# System files
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

# IDE
.vscode/
.idea/

# Dependencies
node_modules/
vendor/

# Environment
.env
.env.local

# Build output
dist/
build/
*.log

# Sensitive
*.key
*.pem
*token*
EOF

# Add to repository
git add .gitignore
git commit -m "Add .gitignore"

Best Practices​

Commit Messages​

Good commit messages:

git commit -m "Add user authentication with JWT"
git commit -m "Fix memory leak in connection pool"
git commit -m "Update Docker deployment configuration"
git commit -m "Remove deprecated API endpoints"

Poor commit messages:

git commit -m "update"          # Too vague
git commit -m "fix bug"         # Which bug?
git commit -m "changes"         # What changes?
git commit -m "wip"             # Not descriptive

Commit Frequency​

  • Commit logical units of work
  • Commit working code
  • Commit before switching tasks
  • Don't commit broken code to main
  • Don't commit sensitive data

Safe Operations​

# Always check status before committing
git status

# Review changes before staging
git diff

# Use --dry-run for destructive operations
git clean -n

# Use --force-with-lease instead of -f
git push --force-with-lease

Quick Reference​

Essential Commands​

CommandPurpose
git statusCheck repository status
git add .Stage all changes
git commit -m "msg"Commit with message
git pushPush to remote
git pullPull from remote
git logView commit history
git diffView changes
git branchList branches
git checkoutSwitch branches
git mergeMerge branches

Emergency Commands​

CommandPurpose
git stashSave changes temporarily
git reset --hard HEADDiscard all changes
git rebase --abortCancel rebase
git merge --abortCancel merge
git clean -fdRemove untracked files