Git Version Control Study Notes

Amending and Rewriting Commits

Amending lets you fix the most recent commit's message or contents without creating a new commit, while broader history rewriting tools reshape older commits b…

Branch Protection and CI Checks

Explore how branch protection rules and required CI status checks stop broken or unreviewed code from reaching important branches like main.

Cherry-Picking Commits

Cherry-picking applies the changes from a specific commit made on one branch onto another, letting you selectively port individual fixes without merging entire…

Commit Message Conventions

Why disciplined, structured commit messages make history searchable and automatable, and how conventions like Conventional Commits standardize their format.

Committing Changes

How to create commits, write effective commit messages, and understand what a commit actually records in Git's history.

Common Git Pitfalls

A field guide to the mistakes that trip up both new and experienced Git users, why each one happens, and how to avoid or recover from it.

Creating and Switching Branches

Master the day-to-day commands for creating, switching, listing, and deleting branches, including the modern git switch/git restore split from git checkout.

Feature Branch Workflow

A widely used team workflow where every change lives on its own short-lived branch off main, gets reviewed via pull request, and is merged once approved and te…

Forking and Cloning

Cloning creates a full local copy of a repository's history, while forking creates a server-side copy under your own account — together they underpin how most…

git bisect for Debugging

Learn how git bisect uses binary search over your commit history to pinpoint exactly which commit introduced a bug, dramatically faster than checking commits o…

Git Flow and Trunk-Based Development

Two contrasting branching strategies for organizing a team's work — Git Flow's structured long-lived branches versus trunk-based development's short-lived bran…

Git Interview Questions

A curated set of Git concepts commonly probed in technical interviews, with the reasoning behind each answer so you understand, not just memorize.

Git Quick Reference

A condensed, practical cheat sheet of the Git commands you'll reach for daily, grouped by task, with just enough context to use each one correctly.

git reset Explained

How git reset moves the current branch pointer and optionally rewrites the staging area and working directory, and the meaningful difference between its --soft…

git revert vs git reset

Two different ways to undo changes in Git — revert creates a new commit that inverses a prior one, while reset moves the branch pointer and rewrites history —…

Git Tags and Releases

Understand how git tags mark specific commits as meaningful milestones like versions, and how lightweight vs annotated tags support release workflows and repro…

GitHub Issues and Project Boards

Learn how GitHub Issues track bugs and tasks, and how Project boards organize that work visually so teams can plan, prioritize, and ship together.

.gitignore and Clean Repositories

Learn how .gitignore patterns keep build artifacts, secrets, and local config out of version control, and how to handle already-tracked files that should be ig…

Initializing a Repository

How to create a new Git repository with git init, what actually gets created inside the .git directory, and how this differs from cloning an existing one.

Installing and Configuring Git

How to install Git on major platforms and configure identity, editor, and behavior settings at the system, global, and local levels.

Interactive Rebase

Interactive rebase lets you reorder, squash, edit, or drop commits before they land, turning a messy work-in-progress history into a clean, reviewable narrativ…

Merging Branches

Understand how git merge combines diverged branch histories, the difference between fast-forward and three-way merges, and when each occurs.

Monorepos vs Polyrepos

Compare storing all projects in a single monorepo versus many independent polyrepos, and the tradeoffs each makes around tooling, ownership, and history.

Pull Requests and Code Review

How pull requests turn a branch into a reviewable, discussable proposal for merging code, and the practices that make code review effective rather than a rubbe…