Key notes while working with git

This post is written for developers who prefer working with git via command-line like me. If you love GUI, hope you still can find something useful here

Git alias

Git aliases are a powerful workflow tool that create shortcuts to frequently used Git commands

git alias in the simpleset term is creating a shortcut (short command) for the long ones, make them easier to remember and you can type it faster.

Syntax

Use --global flag to tell git that the alias will be used in all projects (otherwise, it will only work on your current working project!)

Use quotes ('') if the original-command includes space(s).

For me, I create aliases for almost all commands that I work with daily.

Git status

Check the changes before committing:

Tip: Use git st with --short flag or -s to see the short-format of the changes, and... you know it - create an alias for this command too

Much clearer results and much faster typing, right?

Git commit

Commit changes (add/stage changes before):

TIP

If the changes are only for existing files (neither new file nor deleted file), use --all or -a flag so you don't have to add or stage changes before committing

Git stash

Stash the changes in a dirty working directory away

Like the definition, use git stash when you need to "stash" the changes before pulling new stuff from remote repo:

Applying the stashed changes after pulling:

Create an alias for it:

Git pull/push

Always pull rebase and force push to have a clean commit tree!

pull rebase
What if a conflict occurs after rebasing?
List all the conflicts with git diff and create an alias for this command:
force push
When you finish resolving the conflicts that occured after rebasing, we need to force push the changes to the remote repo:
Why not --force?
TL;DR
The --force flag will make git overwrite the remote repo with local changes without comparing with possible updates in the remote after rebasing, which can be dangerous if 2 developers working on the same branch.
--force-with-lease in the opposite way, make sure you can push only when no updates on the upstream exist.

Git checkout

Create a new branch:

TIP

Use git co - to checkout to the previous branch.

Example:

Git diff

Check the changes before commit (Usually, I use this to make sure no debug, hardcode or console.log is left in my code).

Note

All your aliases can be found in ~/.gitconfig file (MacOS). You can open this file directly and edit any alias you want.

Prerequisite to be able to edit this file: knowing vim

vim-meme

Git workflow

My daily workflow working with git (all aliases explained in the above section)

Here is my entire workflow but only the highlighted commands are the most commonly used

`.gitignore` and `.gitkeep`

.gitignore

Useful ready to use templates

Tip: ignore all files inside a directory but keep 1 specific file

.gitkeep

How to push an empty directory to the remote repo?

Create a .gitkeep file, put it in the empty directory, then you can push the directory to the upstream!

This it not an official feature of git itself! Just a convention of some random dev out there .

Explannation: the trick here is to make the directory non-empty (it has a file inside!). So, we can push it to the upstream. Thus, .gitkeep could be any file that you think about (empty or not doesn't matter). Choose .gitkeep causes it easy to understand and remember.

Wrapping up

Those are all my notes while working with git, how I understand the concepts and how I work with it faster. Would love to see your use cases in the comment section!

Happy sharing