Levels 62–67: Git & Version Control

Level 62: Git Basics

Command	What it does
git init	Turn the current directory into a git repository
git config --global user.name "You"	Set your global commit identity
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"	Set your global commit email
git status	See what’s changed, staged, or untracked
git status -s	The same, in compact one-line-per-file form

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Level 63: Staging & Committing

Git doesn’t commit your whole working directory blindly. There’s a staging area in between: a deliberate list of exactly what goes into the next commit.

Command	What it does
git add file	Stage one file
git add . (or -A)	Stage everything
git commit -m "message"	Commit staged changes
git commit -am "message"	Stage every tracked, modified file and commit, in one step
git diff --staged	Review exactly what’s queued for the next commit

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Level 64: History & Diffs

Command	What it does
git log	Full commit history
git log --oneline	Compact, one line per commit
git diff	Unstaged working-directory changes
git show <hash>	Full details of one commit
git blame file	Who last changed each line, and when

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Level 65: Branching & Merging

Branches are how git lets you work on something new without touching what already works.

Command	What it does
git branch	List branches
git branch name	Create a branch (doesn’t switch to it)
git switch name (or git checkout name)	Switch to an existing branch
git switch -c name (or git checkout -b name)	Create and switch in one step
git merge name	Merge a branch into the current one
git branch -d name	Delete a branch that’s already merged

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Level 66: Remotes

Command	What it does
git clone url	Copy a remote repo locally
git remote add origin url	Register a remote under a short name
git remote -v	List remotes and their URLs
git push -u origin main	Push and link the upstream tracking branch
git pull	Fetch and merge in one step
git fetch	Download without touching your working branch

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Level 67: Undo & Ignore

Every mistake has a real, specific fix, and using the wrong one on shared history is exactly how a rescue turns into a real incident.

Command	What it does
git restore --staged file	Unstage a file, keep the edits
git restore file	Discard uncommitted edits entirely
git reset --soft HEAD~1	Undo the last commit, keep it staged
git revert HEAD	Undo a commit safely, with a new commit (fine for already-pushed history)
git stash	Shelve uncommitted changes to switch branches cleanly
echo pattern >> .gitignore	Stop tracking matching paths forever

Tip

git reset rewrites history and is fine on commits nobody else has seen. git revert doesn’t rewrite anything, it just adds a new commit undoing the old one, which is the safe choice the moment something’s already been pushed and possibly pulled by someone else.

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Finish this level and move on to Docker & Containers: images, running containers, building your own, and cleaning up after them.