Advanced Git Commands and Their Usage

Git offers many powerful commands beyond the basic commit, push, and pull operations. Here's an in-depth look at some advanced Git commands that can help you manage your workflow more effectively:

Git Stash

git stash temporarily shelves changes you've made so you can work on something else and then come back to them later.

Common git stash Commands:

# Save your changes to a stash
git stash

# Save with a description
git stash save "Work in progress for feature x"

# List all stashes
git stash list

# Apply the most recent stash without removing it
git stash apply

# Apply a specific stash
git stash apply stash@{2}

# Apply the most recent stash and remove it from the stash list
git stash pop

# Drop a specific stash
git stash drop stash@{1}

# Clear all stashes
git stash clear

Example Scenario:

# You're working on a feature but need to fix an urgent bug
git stash save "Feature work in progress"

# Switch to the branch for fixing the bug
git checkout bugfix

# Fix the bug and commit
git add .
git commit -m "Fix critical bug"

# Return to your feature branch
git checkout feature

# Restore your stashed changes
git stash pop

Git Cherry-Pick

git cherry-pick applies the changes from specific commits to your current branch.

Common git cherry-pick Commands:

# Apply a single commit to the current branch
git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

# Apply multiple commits
git cherry-pick <commit-hash-1> <commit-hash-2>

# Cherry-pick a commit without committing it
git cherry-pick -n <commit-hash>

# Continue cherry-pick after resolving conflicts
git cherry-pick --continue

# Abort a cherry-pick operation
git cherry-pick --abort

Example Scenario:

# Identify the commit hash you want to cherry-pick
git log --oneline

# Cherry-pick a specific bug fix from the develop branch to main
git checkout main
git cherry-pick a1b2c3d4

# Cherry-pick a range of commits
git cherry-pick a1b2c3d4^..e5f6g7h8

Git Revert

git revert creates a new commit that undoes the changes made by previous commits, keeping history intact.

Common git revert Commands:

# Revert the most recent commit
git revert HEAD

# Revert a specific commit
git revert <commit-hash>

# Revert multiple commits
git revert <commit-hash-1> <commit-hash-2>

# Revert a range of commits
git revert <oldest-commit-hash>..<newest-commit-hash>

# Revert without automatically committing
git revert -n <commit-hash>

Example Scenario:

# Identify the commit that introduced a bug
git log --oneline

# Create a new commit that undoes that change
git revert 789abcd

# Revert multiple commits
git revert 123abcd 456efgh

Git Reset

git reset moves the current branch pointer to a specified commit, with different options for handling the working directory.

Common git reset Commands:

# Soft reset - moves HEAD but keeps changes staged
git reset --soft <commit-hash>

# Mixed reset (default) - unstages changes but keeps them in working directory
git reset <commit-hash>
git reset --mixed <commit-hash>  # Same as above

# Hard reset - discards all changes, matching working directory to specified commit
git reset --hard <commit-hash>

# Reset a specific file to a specific commit
git reset <commit-hash> -- <filename>

Example Scenario:

# Undo the last commit but keep changes staged
git reset --soft HEAD~1

# Undo the last commit and unstage changes
git reset HEAD~1

# Completely discard the last three commits and all changes
git reset --hard HEAD~3

# Reset to a specific commit
git reset --hard a1b2c3d4

Important Safety Notes

1. Git Reset: The --hard option discards changes permanently. Use with caution.
2. Git Revert vs Reset: revert is safer for shared branches as it preserves history, while reset rewrites history.
3. Git Cherry-Pick: May cause duplicate commits if not used carefully.
4. Git Stash: Stashed changes can be lost if not managed properly.

These commands give you powerful control over your Git repositories, allowing for more complex workflows and better management of your project history.