Git Utilities

# Stash current changes
git stash
git stash pop
 
# Cherry-pick a commit from another branch
git cherry-pick abc1234
 
# Find the commit that introduced a bug
git bisect start
git bisect bad          # current commit is broken
git bisect good v1.0.0  # this tag was working
# Git checks out commits for you to test, then:
git bisect good  # or  git bisect bad
git bisect reset # when done
 
# Recover a lost commit
git reflog
git checkout -b recovery abc1234

# You're mid-feature but need to fix a bug on main
git stash -m "WIP: dashboard chart component"
git checkout main
git checkout -b hotfix/login-error
# ... fix the bug, commit, push, merge ...
git checkout feature/dashboard
git stash pop
# Back to your WIP exactly where you left off

# A teammate fixed a utility function on their branch
# You need just that one commit, not their whole branch
git cherry-pick abc1234
 
# Cherry-pick without committing (stage changes only)
git cherry-pick --no-commit abc1234
 
# Cherry-pick a range of commits
git cherry-pick abc1234..def5678

# Stash including untracked files
git stash -u
 
# Stash including ignored files
git stash -a
 
# List all stashes
git stash list
# stash@{0}: On feature/dashboard: WIP: chart component
# stash@{1}: On main: quick experiment
 
# Apply a specific stash (keep it in the list)
git stash apply stash@{1}
 
# Drop a specific stash
git stash drop stash@{1}
 
# Clear all stashes
git stash clear
 
# Create a branch from a stash
git stash branch new-feature stash@{0}
 
# Show what's in a stash
git stash show -p stash@{0}

# Manual bisect
git bisect start
git bisect bad                 # HEAD is broken
git bisect good abc1234        # this commit was working
 
# Git checks out a commit halfway between good and bad
# Test it, then tell Git:
git bisect good   # this commit works fine
# or
git bisect bad    # this commit is broken
 
# Repeat until Git finds the first bad commit
# "abc1234 is the first bad commit"
 
git bisect reset  # return to your original branch
 
# Automated bisect with a test script
git bisect start HEAD abc1234
git bisect run npm test
# Git automatically runs the test at each step
# Exit code 0 = good, non-zero = bad

# View reflog
git reflog
# abc1234 HEAD@{0}: commit: feat: add search
# def5678 HEAD@{1}: rebase (finish): returning to refs/heads/feature
# ghi9012 HEAD@{2}: rebase (start): checkout main
# jkl3456 HEAD@{3}: commit: feat: add dashboard
 
# Recover after a bad rebase
git reflog
# Find the commit hash before the rebase started
git reset --hard HEAD@{3}
 
# Recover a deleted branch
git reflog
# Find the last commit on the deleted branch
git checkout -b recovered-branch abc1234

# Preview what would be removed (dry run)
git clean -n
 
# Remove untracked files
git clean -f
 
# Remove untracked files and directories
git clean -fd
 
# Remove ignored files too (full reset)
git clean -fdx
 
# Interactive mode
git clean -i

# Create a lightweight tag
git tag v1.0.0
 
# Create an annotated tag (recommended for releases)
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"
 
# Tag a specific commit
git tag -a v0.9.0 abc1234 -m "Beta release"
 
# List tags
git tag -l
git tag -l "v1.*"
 
# Push tags to remote
git push origin v1.0.0
git push origin --tags
 
# Delete a tag
git tag -d v1.0.0
git push origin --delete v1.0.0

# Reset — move HEAD backward (rewrites history)
git reset --soft HEAD~1   # undo commit, keep changes staged
git reset --mixed HEAD~1  # undo commit, keep changes unstaged (default)
git reset --hard HEAD~1   # undo commit, discard changes entirely
 
# Revert — create a new commit that undoes a previous one (safe for shared branches)
git revert abc1234
git revert HEAD~3..HEAD   # revert a range
git revert --no-commit abc1234  # stage the revert without committing

# Create a worktree for a different branch
git worktree add ../project-hotfix hotfix/login-error
 
# List worktrees
git worktree list
 
# Remove a worktree when done
git worktree remove ../project-hotfix