Git Helper

Git commands translated for vibecoders.

The Only Commands You Really Need

Save Your Work

git add .
git commit -m "describe what you changed"

Upload to GitHub/Remote

git push

Download Latest Changes

git pull

Common Tasks

"I want to save a checkpoint before trying something risky"

git add .
git commit -m "checkpoint before trying X"

"I want to undo what I just did"

Undo last commit but keep the changes:

git reset --soft HEAD~1

Throw away all uncommitted changes:

git checkout .

Undo changes to a specific file:

git checkout -- path/to/file.js

Go back to how it was on GitHub:

git fetch origin
git reset --hard origin/main

"I want to see what changed"

git status              # what files changed
git diff                # what lines changed (unstaged)
git diff --staged       # what lines changed (staged)
git log --oneline -10   # last 10 commits
git show HEAD           # see last commit details

"I want to work on something separate"

git checkout -b my-new-feature    # create branch
# ... do your work ...
git add .
git commit -m "my changes"
git push -u origin my-new-feature # upload branch

"I want to get someone else's branch"

git fetch origin
git checkout their-branch-name

"I want to merge my branch into main"

git checkout main
git pull
git merge my-new-feature
git push

Fixing Mistakes

"I committed to the wrong branch"

git reset --soft HEAD~1           # undo commit, keep changes
git stash                          # save changes temporarily
git checkout correct-branch        # switch branches
git stash pop                      # bring changes back
git add .
git commit -m "your message"

"I need to change my last commit message"

git commit --amend -m "new message"

"I want to add something to my last commit"

git add .
git commit --amend --no-edit

"Git says I have merge conflicts"

1. Open the file with conflicts
2. Look for lines with <<<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>
3. Keep the code you want, delete the markers
4. Save the file
5. git add . then git commit -m "resolved conflicts"

"Git won't let me pull"

# Option 1: Save your changes first
git stash
git pull
git stash pop

# Option 2: Commit first
git add .
git commit -m "my changes"
git pull

"I'm in 'detached HEAD' state"

Don't panic. Just:

git checkout main

If you have changes you want to keep:

git checkout -b save-my-work

"I want to completely start over"

git fetch origin
git reset --hard origin/main

⚠️ This throws away ALL local changes

"I accidentally deleted a file"

git checkout HEAD -- path/to/deleted/file.js

"I need to grab just one commit from another branch"

git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

Working with Stash

Save changes for later (named):

git stash push -m "work in progress on feature X"

See all stashes:

git stash list

Restore a specific stash:

git stash pop stash@{0}   # most recent
git stash pop stash@{1}   # second most recent

Delete a stash:

git stash drop stash@{0}

Daily Workflow

Start of day:

git pull

While working (save often):

git add .
git commit -m "what I did"

End of day:

git push

Branch Cleanup

Delete local branch:

git branch -d branch-name      # safe delete
git branch -D branch-name      # force delete

Delete remote branch:

git push origin --delete branch-name

See all branches:

git branch -a

Quick Reference

GitHub-Specific

Clone a repo:

git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git

Add a remote:

git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git

See remotes:

git remote -v

Create repo from existing folder:

1. Create empty repo on GitHub (no README)
2. Then:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "initial commit"
git remote add origin https://github.com/user/repo.git
git push -u origin main