Git Basics

Git is the version control system used by virtually every software project today.

The three areas

Git has three main areas to understand:

• Working tree — your files as they are on disk
• Staging area (index) — changes you've marked to include in the next commit
• Repository — the committed history

Essential commands

git init          # start a new repository
git add .         # stage all changes
git commit -m ""  # commit with a message
git log           # view history
git diff          # see unstaged changes

Branching

git branch feature   # create a branch
git switch feature   # switch to it
git merge feature    # merge back into main

Branches are cheap in Git — use them freely.