If you are starting your Git journey, this blog is for you.
Every time I speak to junior developers or college students who are about to enter the professional world, one of the things that really scares them is “GIT“. I was in the same position too a couple of decades back and I totally understand the feeling.
Having said that, Git doesn’t have to be intimidating. I remember as a student making multiple copies of the code in different floppy disks or taking backups on multiple folders of the machine. I started with SVN in 2006 ( Probably no-one uses it anymore) and then later shifted to Git in 2008. Since then, I never have taking backups in many places nor upload to cloud to maintain a copy to be “SAFE“.
That’s not to say Git is “EASY”, its surely has the reputation to scare the hell out of beginners. Having said that, like anything new, it feels hard at first. Until you learn it. The secret to mastering anything ( Including GIT) lies in practicing. Start with a simple repo where there is not to lose, make mistakes and then just be curious.
Top Git Commands Every Developer Should Know in 2025
In this blog, I Intend to write about Git Commands for Beginners. My goal is to help you get past the initial fear many people have when they first open gitbash or any terminal and try to figure out what git init, commit, or push even mean.
Here are some commands that you’ll use almost daily,. In the next section, we will look at slightly more advanced and yet beginner-friendly commands.
The only Git Commands you will ever need.
| Git Command | Simple Explanation |
git clone <repo> | Creates a local copy of a remote repository. |
git init | Initializes a new Git repository. |
git status | Shows the current state of the working directory and staging area. |
git add <file> | Stages changes for the next commit. |
git commit -m "msg" | Saves staged changes with a message. |
git push | Sends local commits to the remote repository. |
git pull | Fetches and merges changes from the remote repository. |
git fetch | Downloads changes from remote but doesn’t merge them. |
git log | Shows the commit history. |
git checkout <branch/file> | Switches branches or restores a file. |
git branch | Lists, creates, or deletes branches. |
git merge <branch> | Merges a branch into the current branch. |
| Git Command | Simple Explanation |
git rebase <branch> | Reapplies commits from one branch onto another. |
git stash | Temporarily saves uncommitted changes. |
git stash pop | Restores and removes stashed changes. |
git diff | Shows the changes between files or commits. |
git reset | Unstages or reverts commits (soft/hard/mixed). |
git revert <commit> | Creates a new commit to undo a previous one. |
git remote -v | Shows remote connections. |
git checkout -b <branch> | Creates and switches to a new branch. |
git tag <name> | Tags a specific commit (e.g., for release). |
Advanced Git Commands
| Git Command | Simple Explanation |
git cherry-pick <commit> | Applies a specific commit from another branch. |
git reflog | Shows a log of all changes to HEAD (recover lost commits). |
git bisect | Finds which commit introduced a bug via binary search. |
git blame <file> | Shows who last modified each line of a file. |
git clean -f | Removes untracked files from the working directory. |
git show <commit> | Displays changes in a specific commit. |
git archive | Creates a tar/zip archive of the repository. |
git submodule | Manages nested repositories. |
These are enough for beginners.
Next Steps - Practice
You’ve already taken the first step of learning GIT by reading this blog. That means you’re serious about growing and learning. And that, more than anything else, is what makes you unstoppable. I recommend practicing the commands. Go Start Now.
Let's Connect
Hi, I’m Sandeep Gokhale, and I'm passionate about building high-performing teams at my company, Techvito and I write about Technology, People, Processes and some more fun stuff.
One of my life’s mission is to teach and mentor people with whatever I know. If you’re interested in learning how to set SMART goals, I’m here to help you.
Let’s connect— Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Until Next time!
