Git Cheat Sheet

4.1 Commands You'll Use Every Day

Command	What it does	When to use it
git status	Shows what files changed	Before every commit
git pull	Download latest from GitHub	Every morning
git checkout -b name/type/desc	Create a new feature branch	Starting any new task
git add .	Stage all changes	Before committing
git commit -m "type: message"	Save with a message	Every working state
git push	Upload to GitHub	After committing, end of day
git rebase main	Pull in latest main changes	When main has new commits
git stash	Temporarily hide changes	When switching branches urgently
git log --oneline	See recent commit history	Debugging, orientation

4.2 Conventional Commits Format

Format:  type(scope): short description

 feat(tasks): add drag-and-drop between lists
 fix(auth): redirect to /login when session expires
 chore(deps): upgrade drizzle to v2.1.0

 "fixed stuff"  /  "WIP"  /  "update"

Type	When to use
feat	A new feature visible to the user
fix	A bug fix
chore	Tooling, deps, config — nothing the user sees
refactor	Code restructured without changing behaviour
test	Adding or fixing tests
docs	Documentation only

4.3 Day-to-Day Git Flow (Capstone)

Because you work on your own fork, there is no shared branch to protect. Keep it simple:

git checkout main && git pull (sync with upstream if mentor pushed updates)
Write code. Commit often with Conventional Commits format.
git push (push to your fork main at end of each session)

Pro Tip

Feature branches are optional for the capstone — use them when working on something risky you might want to discard.

For project submissions (Foundations 1 & 2), you will share your repo URL directly with your mentor for review.

The only formal code review in this program happens on those two project submissions.

4.4 Fixing Common Mistakes

Situation	Fix
Committed to main by mistake	git checkout -b rescue/my-changes then git checkout main && git reset --hard origin/main
Undo last commit (keep changes)	git reset --soft HEAD~1
Undo last commit (discard changes)	git reset --hard HEAD~1 permanent
Rebase conflict	Remove <<<< ==== >>>> markers. Keep correct code. git add . && git rebase --continue
Accidentally deleted a file	git checkout HEAD -- path/to/file.tsx

Common Mistake

NEVER run git push --force on main or a shared branch.

NEVER commit .env files. Add .env* to .gitignore immediately.

Accidentally committed a secret? Tell your mentor NOW. The key must be rotated.