BitWithBiteGit & GitHub · Quick Reference
Lesson 3 — Git Basics: Your First Repository Cheat Sheet
In one line: Every Git project follows the same basic cycle. Once you learn these 5 commands, you can manage any project with Git. Let's build a real project from scratch.
Key Ideas
1The Core Git Workflow. Every Git project follows the same basic cycle. Once you learn these 5 commands, you can manage any project with Git. Let's build a real project from scratch.
2git add & git commit. These two commands form the heart of Git. git add moves changes to the Staging Area. git commit saves the staged changes as a permanent snapshot.
3git log — Viewing History. After a few commits, you'll want to see your project history. git log shows every commit: who made it, when, and what the message was.
4git diff — Seeing Changes. Before committing, you often want to see exactly what changed. git diff shows you line-by-line differences.
5Writing Great Commit Messages. A commit message is a permanent record of why a change was made. Bad messages like "fix" or "update" are useless 6 months later. Good messages make you and your team v...
Code Examples
# Create a new project directory
mkdir my-first-repo
cd my-first-repo
# Initialize Git — creates a hidden .git folder
git init
# Output: Initialized empty Git repository in .../my-first-repo/.git/
# Check the status of your repo
git status
# Output: On br...
# Create a file
echo "# My Project" > README.md
# Check status — README.md is "untracked"
git status
# Stage the file
git add README.md
# Or stage ALL changes at once:
git add .
# Check status again — file is now "staged"
git status
# Commit with a m...
# Full log — shows hash, author, date, message
git log
# Compact — one line per commit
git log --oneline
# Compact + visual branch graph
git log --oneline --graph --all
# Show last 5 commits only
git log -5
# Search commits by message
git log --grep="fe...