Linux and Git Commands
The following sections list of the more commonly used Linux and Git commands.
Most of these commands have tons of options you will seldom use. We'll cover some of the more frequently used ones here, but you can always find out more by checking the command's documentation.
In Linux (and OS X), you can look up the documentation for a command with
man (manual).
For example, man ls opens the manual page for the ls command.
man man displays documentation for the man command itself!
Some Conventions
In this cheatsheet, <something> indicates that something is a variable.
You should replace it with the thing you want the command to act on.
<something ...> means that the command can accept multiple arguments.
Each argument is separated by a space.
Useful options will be listed as sublists.
Linux
ls <directory_name>: LiSt directory contents. If no directory is specified, list the contents of the current directory.-l: displays listings in a long format.-a: also displays hidden files.
pwd: Get the name of the current working directory.cd <directory_name>: Change working directory todirectory_name. If no directory is specified, goes back to the home folder.cat <filename ...>: ConCATenate and print files.nano <filename ...>: Open specified files with the nano text editor.vim <filename ...>: Open specified files with the vim text editor.mv <source> <destination>: MoVes file namedsourcetodestination. Also used for renaming files.cp <source> <destination>: CoPies file namedsourcetodestination.-r: Ifsourceis a directory, copies the directory and everything in it todestination.
rm <filename ...>: ReMove specified files.-r: Removes directories and their contents.
Git
git checkout <branch name>: Switch to the specified branch.-b: Create a new branch with that name. If the branch exists on the server, Git will automatically track the branch.
git clone <URL> <directory_name>: Clone the repository into the specified directory. Ifdirectory_nameis not specified, a directory is automatically created.git add <filename ...>: Tells Git you want to add these files to the next commit.git commit: Creates a new commit which records your changes.-m "<commit message>": Specify a commit message. Quote marks are necessary.
git mv <source> <destination>: Tells Git you want to move or rename a file.git rm <filename ...>: Removes file and tells Git.git pull <remote name> <branch name>: Fetch changes from the server and integrate them with your copy.git push <remote name> <branch name>: Push your changes to the server. Prelude to creating a pull request.git diff: See the changes made so far.--staged: See changes you've made after runninggit add.
git status: Show the status of the repository.
Git is a very powerful tool with many advanced features. Should you wish to learn more, the entire Pro Git book is available for free.
Git Workflow
These steps and terms are specific to GitHub but competing products pretty much do the same thing, except with different names.
Setup Steps
- Fork the repository.
Clone it to your computer.
git clone <your-url>Set the original repository as and upstream remote so you can sync changes to your own copy.
git remote add upstream <original-url>
Development Cycle
Create a new branch to work on.
git checkout -b <branch-name>Make your changes in logical chunks. Many small commits will make your history hard to read. Large commits make it hard to debug if necessary.
Add your changes to the staging area.
git add <filenames ...>Create a new commit of those changes.
git commit -m "<commit-message>"Repeat the 3 steps above until you are done with the work for your branch.
Push the branch to your forked repository.
git push origin <branch-name>Go to the main repository on GitHub and create a pull request.
When the pull request has been merged, sync your local copy. This will also pull in changes from other people.
git checkout master git pull upstream masterKeep your forked repository in sync with the original.
git push origin master
Additional Documentation
Related links to GitHub's documentation.