1 Everyday GIT With 20 Commands Or So
2 ===================================
4 GIT suite has over 100 commands, and the manual page for each of
5 them discusses what the command does and how it is used in
6 detail, but until you know what command should be used in order
7 to achieve what you want to do, you cannot tell which manual
8 page to look at, and if you know that already you do not need
11 Does that mean you need to know all of them before you can use
12 git? Not at all. Depending on the role you play, the set of
13 commands you need to know is slightly different, but in any case
14 what you need to learn is far smaller than the full set of
15 commands to carry out your day-to-day work. This document is to
16 serve as a cheat-sheet and a set of pointers for people playing
19 <<Basic Repository>> commands are needed by people who has a
20 repository --- that is everybody, because every working tree of
23 In addition, <<Individual Developer (Standalone)>> commands are
24 essential for anybody who makes a commit, even for somebody who
27 If you work with other people, you will need commands listed in
28 <<Individual Developer (Participant)>> section as well.
30 People who play <<Integrator>> role need to learn some more
31 commands in addition to the above.
33 <<Repository Administration>> commands are for system
34 administrators who are responsible to care and feed git
35 repositories to support developers.
38 Basic Repository[[Basic Repository]]
39 ------------------------------------
41 Everybody uses these commands to feed and care git repositories.
43 * gitlink:git-init-db[1] or gitlink:git-clone[1] to create a
46 * gitlink:git-fsck-objects[1] to validate the repository.
48 * gitlink:git-prune[1] to garbage collect crufts in the
51 * gitlink:git-repack[1] to pack loose objects for efficiency.
56 Check health and remove cruft::
59 $ git fsck-objects <1>
61 $ git count-objects <2>
65 <1> running without "--full" is usually cheap and assures the
66 repository health reasonably well.
67 <2> check how many loose objects there are and how much
68 diskspace is wasted by not repacking.
69 <3> without "-a" repacks incrementally. repacking every 4-5MB
70 of loose objects accumulation may be a good rule of thumb.
71 <4> after repack, prune removes the duplicate loose objects.
74 Repack a small project into single pack::
77 $ git repack -a -d <1>
82 Individual Developer (Standalone)[[Individual Developer (Standalone)]]
83 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
85 A standalone individual developer does not exchange patches with
86 other poeple, and works alone in a single repository, using the
89 * gitlink:git-show-branch[1] to see where you are.
91 * gitlink:git-log[1] to see what happened.
93 * gitlink:git-whatchanged[1] to find out where things have
96 * gitlink:git-checkout[1] and gitlink:git-branch[1] to switch
99 * gitlink:git-add[1] and gitlink:git-update-index[1] to manage
102 * gitlink:git-diff[1] and gitlink:git-status[1] to see what
103 you are in the middle of doing.
105 * gitlink:git-commit[1] to advance the current branch.
107 * gitlink:git-reset[1] and gitlink:git-checkout[1] (with
108 pathname parameters) to undo changes.
110 * gitlink:git-pull[1] with "." as the remote to merge between
113 * gitlink:git-rebase[1] to maintain topic branches.
115 * gitlink:git-tag[1] to mark known point.
120 Extract a tarball and create a working tree and a new repository to keep track of it::
123 $ tar zxf frotz.tar.gz
127 $ git commit -m 'import of frotz source tree.'
130 <1> add everything under the current directory.
131 <2> make a lightweight, unannotated tag.
134 Create a topic branch and develop::
137 $ git checkout -b alsa-audio <1>
139 $ git checkout -- curses/ux_audio_oss.c <2>
140 $ git add curses/ux_audio_alsa.c <3>
143 $ git commit -a -s <5>
145 $ git reset --soft HEAD^ <6>
147 $ git diff ORIG_HEAD <7>
148 $ git commit -a -c ORIG_HEAD <8>
149 $ git checkout master <9>
150 $ git pull . alsa-audio <10>
151 $ git log --since='3 days ago' <11>
152 $ git log v2.43.. curses/ <12>
154 <1> create a new topic branch.
155 <2> revert your botched changes in "curses/ux_audio_oss.c".
156 <3> you need to tell git if you added a new file; removal and
157 modification will be caught if you do "commit -a" later.
158 <4> to see what changes you are committing.
159 <5> commit everything as you have tested, with your sign-off.
160 <6> take the last commit back, keeping what is in the working tree.
161 <7> look at the changes since the premature commit we took back.
162 <8> redo the commit undone in the previous step, using the message
163 you originally wrote.
164 <9> switch to the master branch.
165 <10> merge a topic branch into your master branch
166 <11> or --since='aug 1', --max-count=10
167 <12> view only the changes that touch what's in curses/
168 directory, since v2.43 tag.
172 Individual Developer (Participant)[[Individual Developer (Participant)]]
173 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
175 A developer working as a participant in a group project needs to
176 learn how to communicate with others, and uses these commands in
177 addition to the ones needed by a standalone developer.
179 * gitlink:git-pull[1] from "origin" to keep up-to-date with
182 * gitlink:git-push[1] to shared repository if you adopt CVS
183 style shared repository workflow.
185 * gitlink:git-format-patch[1] to prepare e-mail submission, if
186 you adopt Linux kernel-style public forum workflow.
192 Clone the upstream and work on it. Feed changes to upstream::
195 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../torvalds/linux-2.6 my2.6
197 $ edit/compile/test; git commit -a -s <1>
198 $ git format-patch origin <2>
200 $ git whatchanged -p ORIG_HEAD.. arch/i386 include/asm-i386 <4>
201 $ git pull git://git.kernel.org/pub/.../jgarzik/libata-dev.git ALL <5>
202 $ git reset --hard ORIG_HEAD <6>
205 <1> repeat as needed.
206 <2> extract patches from your branch for e-mail submission.
207 <3> "pull" fetches from "origin" by default and merges.
208 <4> look at the changes since last time we checked, only in the
209 area we are interested in.
210 <5> fetch from a specific branch from a specific repository and and merge.
212 <7> garbage collect leftover objects from reverted pull.
215 Branch off of a specific tag::
218 $ git checkout -b private2.6.14 v2.6.14 <1>
219 $ edit/compile/test; git commit -a
220 $ git checkout master
221 $ git format-patch -k -m --stdout v2.6.14..private2.6.14 |
224 <1> create a private branch based on a well known (but somewhat behind)
226 <2> forward port all changes in private2.6.14 branch to master branch
227 without a formal "merging".
231 Integrator[[Integrator]]
232 ------------------------
234 A fairly central person acting as the integrator in a group
235 project receives changes made by others, reviews and integrates
236 them and publishes the result for others to use, using these
237 commands in addition to the ones needed by participants.
239 * gitlink:git-am[1] to apply patches e-mailed in from your
242 * gitlink:git-pull[1] to merge from your trusted lieutenants.
244 * gitlink:git-format-patch[1] to prepare and send suggested
245 alternative to contributors.
247 * gitlink:git-revert[1] to undo botched commits.
249 * gitlink:git-push[1] to publish the bleeding edge.
259 $ git show-branch <2>
261 & s 2 3 4 5 ./+to-apply
262 & s 7 8 ./+hold-linus
264 $ git checkout master
265 $ git am -3 -i -s -u ./+to-apply <4>
267 $ git checkout -b hold/linus && git am -3 -i -s -u ./+hold-linus <5>
268 $ git checkout topic/one && git rebase master <6>
269 $ git checkout pu && git reset --hard master <7>
270 $ git pull . topic/one topic/two && git pull . hold/linus <8>
271 $ git fetch ko master:refs/tags/ko-master &&
272 git show-branch master ko-master <9>
275 $ git cherry-pick master~4 <11>
277 $ git tag -s -m 'GIT 0.99.9x' v0.99.9x <12>
278 $ git push ko v0.99.9x <13>
280 <1> see what I was in the middle of doing, if any.
281 <2> see what topic branches I have and think about how ready
283 <3> read mails, save ones that are applicable, and save others
284 that are not quite ready.
285 <4> apply them, interactively, with my sign-offs.
286 <5> create topic branch as needed and apply, again with my
288 <6> rebase internal topic branch that has not been merged to the
289 master, nor exposed as a part of a stable branch.
290 <7> restart "pu" every time from the master.
291 <8> and bundle topic branches still cooking.
292 <9> make sure I did not accidentally rewound master beyond what I
294 <10> push out the bleeding edge.
295 <11> backport a critical fix.
296 <12> create a signed tag.
297 <13> push the tag out.
301 Repository Administration[[Repository Administration]]
302 ------------------------------------------------------
304 A repository administrator uses the following tools to set up
305 and maintain access to the repository by developers.
307 * gitlink:git-daemon[1] to allow anonymous download from
310 * gitlink:git-shell[1] can be used as a 'restricted login shell'
311 for shared central repository users.
313 * link:howto/update-hook-example.txt[update hook howto] has a
314 good example of managing a shared central repository.
320 Run git-daemon to serve /pub/scm from inetd::
323 $ grep git /etc/inet.conf
324 git stream tcp nowait nobody /usr/bin/git-daemon git-daemon --inetd --syslog --export-all /pub/scm
327 Give push/pull only access to developers::
330 $ grep git /etc/shells
332 $ grep git /etc/passwd
333 alice:x:1000:1000::/home/alice:/usr/bin/git-shell
334 bob:x:1001:1001::/home/bob:/usr/bin/git-shell
335 cindy:x:1002:1002::/home/cindy:/usr/bin/git-shell
336 david:x:1003:1003::/home/david:/usr/bin/git-shell