Visual Guide to Common Git Commands and Their Detailed Explanation

This article presents a visual guide to the most commonly used Git commands, helping readers understand Git's workflow and internal mechanisms.

Basic Usage : The four fundamental commands— git add files , git commit , git reset – files , and git checkout – files —move files between the working directory, the index (staging area), and the repository. Interactive modes ( git add -p , git reset -p , git checkout -p ) are also mentioned.

Conventions : Diagrams use green five‑character IDs for commits, orange for branches, and a HEAD label for the current branch. The latest commit is highlighted, and branch relationships are shown.

Command Details :

Diff : Various ways to view changes between commits are illustrated.

Commit : A commit creates a new snapshot from the index, updates the branch pointer, and can be amended with git commit --amend .

Checkout : Copies files from a commit or the index to the working directory and can switch branches; a detached HEAD occurs when checking out a specific commit, tag, or SHA‑1.

Reset : Moves the current branch pointer and optionally updates the working directory and index ( --hard , --soft ).

Merge : Combines two branches, performing a fast‑forward when possible or a three‑way merge otherwise.

Cherry‑Pick : Copies a single commit onto the current branch.

Rebase : Replays a series of commits onto another base, creating a linear history; interactive mode ( git rebase -i ) allows editing, reordering, or dropping commits.

All commands are demonstrated on a topic branch, not directly on master , to show how history is rewritten safely.

Technical Notes : Git stores file contents as blobs in .git/objects identified by SHA‑1 hashes; the index ( .git/index ) tracks which blobs are staged. Detached HEAD commits are reachable via the reflog but may be garbage‑collected if not referenced.

References : Links to the original visual guide and related documentation (merge, rebase, detached HEAD, interactive rebase) are provided.