Git Basics: 10 Commands Every Beginner Should Know

Git keeps a history of every change in your project. If you break something, you can go back to the last working version in seconds. It is also how teams share code on GitHub and GitLab. You don't need to learn all of Git to start, and ten commands are enough for most days.

Install Git from git-scm.com, then set your name and email once:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

1. git init

Starts tracking the current folder. Git creates a hidden .git folder to store the history.

git init

2. git clone

Downloads an existing project along with its full history.

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

3. git status

Shows which files are new, changed or ready to be saved. Run it often.

git status

4. git add

Picks the changes that go into the next save. git add . picks every change in the folder.

git add index.php
git add .

5. git commit

Saves a snapshot with a short message about what changed.

git commit -m "Add contact form"

6. git log

Shows the history, one line per commit.

git log --oneline

7. git branch

Creates a separate line of work, so you can try something without touching the main code.

git branch new-design

8. git switch

Moves between branches. Add -c to create a branch and switch to it in one go.

git switch new-design
git switch -c another-idea

9. git pull

Brings in the latest changes from the remote repository.

git pull

10. git push

Uploads your commits.

git push origin main

A normal working day

1. git pull to get the latest code
2. Make your changes
3. git status, then git add .
4. git commit -m "What you changed"
5. git push

Set up a .gitignore file early. Files listed there never go into Git, which is where .env files with passwords, log files and big build folders belong.

Once these feel normal, look at git merge, git stash and pull requests on GitHub.