Git & Version Control FAQ
As experts on Git and version control, we get asked a lot about these topics. In the hope that some of the answers are helpful for you, too, we've compiled some frequently asked questions around Git and version control below.
If you're looking for an in-depth course / tutorial on Git, please also see our free ebook and video course.
And in case you're preparing for an interview about Git and version control, you'll definitely find our list of Git Interview Questions helpful!
Advanced Features
- Git Fast-Forward: How and When to Use it
- Git Filter-Repo: The Best Way to Rewrite Git History
- Git Rev-Parse: Your Swiss Army Knife for Git References
- How to Set Up Git Aliases
- How to use "git bisect" to quickly find bugs
- Understanding "git blame"
- Using "git stash list" to view all your stash entries
- Using Git Credential Manager for Effortless Authentication
- Using the Stash to save changes temporarily
- What are Git hooks?
- What is Continuous Integration (CI)?
- What is the Git Reflog?
Basic Operations
Branches & Merging
- Check Out a File from Another Branch
- Checking out a remote branch
- Creating new local and remote branches
- Deleting branches in Git
- Deleting local branches
- Fixing & solving merge conflicts
- How to compare two branches in Git
- How to create a remote branch in Git
- How to rename local and remote branches in Git
- How to rename the "master" branch to "main" in Git
- How to undo a merge in Git
- Merging branches in Git
- Tracking a remote branch
- Using rebase as an alternative to git merge
Commits
- Changing the author (name / email) of a commit
- Deleting commits in Git
- Editing / fixing the last commit's message
- How to checkout a commit in Git
- How to Create and Push an Empty Commit in Git
- How to squash commits in Git
- Undoing a specific old commit
- Undoing the last commit
- Using cherry-pick to integrate individual commits
Git Error Messages
GitHub
Platform Specific
Recovery & Restoration
Remote Operations
- Downloading remote data with git fetch
- How to Fix "fatal: refusing to merge unrelated histories" in Git
- How to force push in Git
- Overwriting local files when pulling
- Set upstream to create a tracking relationship
- Understanding Pull Requests in Git
- Understanding the difference between "Fetch" and "Pull"
- Using "git pull origin master" to download changes
Repository Management
- Adding an empty folder to a repository
- Git Shallow Clone: When Less is More
- Handling large files with Git LFS
- How to use "prune" in Git to clean up remote branches
- How to Use "Sparse Checkout" to Manage Large Git Repositories
- Ignoring a file that has already been committed to the repository
- Removing untracked files with "git clean"
- What is a Git repository?
- What is a Monorepo?
In case you miss an important topic on this list, please let us know via support@git-tower.com
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Just like with Tower, our mission with this platform is to help people become better professionals.
That's why we provide our guides, videos, and cheat sheets (about version control with Git and lots of other topics) for free.
