15 Git Command-Line Tricks Every Developer Should Know
#github#git#developer#development
SOVANNARO

SOVANNARO @sovannaro

About: Passionate developer specializing in JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Vue, and Angular. I thrive on solving problems and building innovative solutions that make a difference in the modern world.

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15 Git Command-Line Tricks Every Developer Should Know

Publish Date: Feb 15
78 14

Git is an essential tool for developers, enabling version control and collaboration on codebases. Mastering Git can significantly enhance your productivity and efficiency. Here are 15 Git command-line tricks that every developer should know, presented in a way that's easy to understand and enjoyable to read. Let's dive in!

1. Stashing Changes

Ever been in the middle of something and suddenly need to switch branches? git stash is your friend! It temporarily saves your changes so you can work on something else.

git stash
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To apply the stashed changes later:

git stash apply
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2. Interactive Rebase

Want to clean up your commit history before merging? Interactive rebase lets you squash, reorder, or edit commits.

git rebase -i HEAD~n
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Replace n with the number of commits you want to go back.

3. Cherry-Picking Commits

Need to apply a specific commit from one branch to another? Cherry-pick to the rescue!

git cherry-pick <commit-hash>
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4. Reverting Commits

Made a mistake? No problem! Revert a commit to undo its changes.

git revert <commit-hash>
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5. Amending Commits

Forgot to add something to your last commit? Amend it!

git commit --amend
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6. Viewing Commit History

Want a pretty view of your commit history? Use:

git log --oneline --graph --decorate --all
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7. Finding Large Files

Identify large files in your repository with:

git rev-list --objects --all | grep "$(git verify-pack -v .git/objects/pack/*.idx | sort -k 3 -n | tail -5 | awk '{print$1}')"
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8. Alias Shortcuts

Tired of typing long commands? Create aliases!

git config --global alias.co checkout
git config --global alias.br branch
git config --global alias.ci commit
git config --global alias.st status
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9. Autocomplete

Enable Git autocomplete for your shell to save time.

For Bash:

source ~/.git-completion.bash
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For Zsh:

source ~/.git-completion.zsh
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10. Ignoring Files

Use .gitignore to exclude files from version control. Generate a template with:

curl https://www.toptal.com/developers/gitignore/api/<OPERATING-SYSTEM>,<IDE>,<PROGRAMMING-LANGUAGE> > .gitignore
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11. Viewing Changes

See what's changed in your working directory with:

git diff
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Or compare branches:

git diff branch1..branch2
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12. Stashing Specific Files

Stash only specific files:

git stash push -m "your message" path/to/file
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13. Bisecting Bugs

Use git bisect to find the commit that introduced a bug.

git bisect start
git bisect bad
git bisect good <commit-hash>
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14. Reflog

Accidentally lost a commit? Use the reflog to recover it.

git reflog
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15. Submodules

Manage dependencies with Git submodules.

git submodule add <repository-url> path/to/submodule
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Conclusion

Mastering these Git tricks can make your development workflow smoother and more efficient. Whether you're stashing changes, rebasing commits, or using aliases, each trick adds a layer of control and convenience. Happy coding, and may your Git adventures be bug-free and productive! 🎉💻

This blog aims to make learning Git fun and engaging. If you found these tips helpful, share them with your fellow developers and let's all become Git masters together!

Follow me on GitHub for more tips and tricks: https://github.com/SOVANNARO

If you enjoy my content and find it helpful, you can support my work by buying me a coffee! Your support helps me keep sharing valuable knowledge. ☕❤️ buymeacoffee.com/sovannaro

Comments 14 total

  • Red Ochsenbein (he/him)
    Red Ochsenbein (he/him)Feb 15, 2025

    Using bisect is simply THE superpower

  • bakir claude-01
    bakir claude-01Feb 15, 2025

    ok

  • Guruprasad Kulkarni
    Guruprasad KulkarniFeb 16, 2025

    Nope the two superpowers are interactive rebase and worktrees, worktrees help so much in projects where multiple people are working and you need to switch branches frequently

  • Rich Winter
    Rich WinterFeb 16, 2025

    git add -p

  • Szászvári Péter
    Szászvári PéterFeb 16, 2025

    Any meaningful IDE would provide these with a click.

    • James
      JamesFeb 16, 2025

      Maybe, but I'm going to chuckle if you aren't familiar with a good chunk of these, and I don't think I'm the only one (but I could be).

  • Guilherme Taffarel Bergamin
    Guilherme Taffarel BergaminFeb 16, 2025

    Most of these are easier to do on IDEs or dedicated software. The best git related investment I've done was buying a Fork license. I started using it back when it was free and after it became paid, I chose it instead of GitKraken (which is also amazing) because GitKraken is a subscription.

    Meanwhile, the best IDE related investment for me was IntelliJ, which I was so impressed by it that I and a few other devs decided to ask to add it to the department budget. All Devs in the company now have a license paid by the company

    • James
      JamesFeb 16, 2025

      I'm curious, would you mind elaborating at all on why IntelliJ beats, say, VSCode?

      • Thomas Blevins
        Thomas BlevinsFeb 16, 2025

        I’ve been using IntelliJ for quite some time now, as it is also a part of the department budget. I’ve used VS code and atom as well.

        I like IntelliJ’s color scheming, integrated DataGrip and automatic code formatting.

        I like VS codes merge conflict manager, the search functionality and how lightweight it is.

        To me, working in IntelliJ for 3 years, I have to say it is the superior IDE. Though, I have had some consistent issues with IntelliJ crashing and freezing during development of which was so consistent at some point that I had to switch to VS code just to get work done and stay focused.

        • Guilherme Taffarel Bergamin
          Guilherme Taffarel BergaminFeb 16, 2025

          I only had one catastrophic crash with IntelliJ. An update borked all my saved settings which was painful because I manage over 100 repos, but just deleting the new version settings files was enough to fix it. It was able to auto-reimport everything from the older version on the second try

      • Guilherme Taffarel Bergamin
        Guilherme Taffarel BergaminFeb 16, 2025

        Code completion and finding code in IntelliJ is superior than VSCode. I've always struggled finding where is, for example, the CSS class defined when I'm in HTML while on VSCode. In IntelliJ ctrl+click works with more things than on VSCode. Refactoring code, renaming stuff, everything works better on IntelliJ. I like the colour coding of code better on IntelliJ too. Database integration is excellent and just simply works. You can run JPQL and native queries directly from the code. It will give you squiggly lines for columns that are not present in tables (as in a typo), etc. It's also so much easier to set up. I can open many projects built in many different tech stacks and it just knows what it should do. Since our projects are very eclectic, for lack of better words, IntelliJ is great for us. It's also possible to debug a web application directly in the IDE just like you would with the backend.

        There are a few things I like VSCode more, though. I like how lightweight it is, so if I just need to quickly check out some code I still use VSCode. I like how clean the interface is too, but recently IntelliJ has this kind of interface too.

        • James
          JamesFeb 17, 2025

          Makes sense, VSCode is very much not ready to use out of the gate. Switching for each tech stack should be doable with workspaces but I definitely understand not wanting to mess with that. Thanks for answering!

      • Randy
        RandyFeb 17, 2025

        VS Code is a glorified text editor; it is NOT an IDE. IntelliJ is an IDE and hands-down the best available. It might have some issues here and there, but VSC requires that you go plugin-diving to get any meaningful functionality. It also lacks some "basic" editing commands that IntelliJ has out-of-the-box, like incremental selection.

        (I'm not here often, so I probably won't see any replies.)

        • James
          JamesFeb 17, 2025

          Yeah, they went the opposite route of "batteries included" - the core functionality is there, then whatever language support or optional features you need are up to you. Microsoft has official extensions for the major stuff.

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