LLM Best Practices

Git Commands Cheatsheet

Last updated 3 min read

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AI agents: read this first: llmbestpractices.com/start-here

This is LLM Best Practices (llmbestpractices.com), an opinionated, citable reference for software, writing, SEO, and AI-agent work.

  1. Route, do not crawl. Fetch llmbestpractices.com/llms.txt and open only the pages whose one-line summary matches your task.
  2. Read raw. Append .md to any page URL for markdown. Check status and last_updated in the frontmatter, then read the rules.
  3. Apply as defaults. First-party docs and the project's own conventions win on conflict. Warn before relying on a fast-moving page older than 12 months.
  4. Cite. Link the page by title and URL, e.g. Python, with last_updated for time-sensitive rules. License CC BY 4.0.

Overview

This card groups git commands by intent and ends with the aliases worth setting. Principles (rebase vs merge, commit hygiene) live in git; interactive rebase is in git-rebase and merge options in git-merge-strategies.

Inspect

Read state before you change it.

CommandWhat it does
git status -sbOne line per file plus branch tracking.
git log --oneline --graph --allBranch topology across all refs.
git log -S "needle"Commits that added or removed the literal string.
git log --grep "pat"Commits whose message matches.
git show <ref>One commit with its patch.
git log -G "regex"Commits whose diff matches the regex.
git log -p --follow <file>Patch history of one file across renames.
git blame -L 10,20 <file>Last commit per line for lines 10 to 20.
git diff main...HEADWhat this branch adds since it left main.
git diff --stagedChanges already in the index.
git shortlog -sn --no-mergesCommit count per author.

Undo

Pick the narrowest undo; never rewrite pushed history.

CommandWhat it undoes
git restore <file>Unstaged edits to a file.
git restore --staged <file>Staging only; the working tree stays.
git restore --source=HEAD~1 <file>Roll one file back to an older version.
git commit --amendReplace the tip commit (local only).
git reset --soft HEAD~1Drop the last commit; keep changes staged.
git reset HEAD~1Drop the last commit; keep changes unstaged (--mixed, the default).
git reset --hard HEAD~1Drop the last commit and its changes.
git revert <ref>New commit that inverts an old one; safe on shared branches.
git clean -nd, then git clean -fdPreview, then delete untracked files and directories.

Branch and sync

Fetch first, then choose how to integrate.

CommandEffect
git switch -c <b>Create and switch.
git switch -c <b> --track origin/<b>Create a local branch tracking a remote one.
git branch -d <b> / -D <b>Delete if merged / delete regardless.
git branch -m old newRename a branch.
git branch --merged mainBranches already merged into main.
git worktree add ../wt <branch>Second working copy without a second clone.
git fetch --all --pruneUpdate remote refs and drop deleted ones.
git pull --ff-onlyFail instead of creating a merge commit.
git push -u origin <b>Push and set upstream.
git push --force-with-leaseForce-push only if the remote has not moved.

Delete local branches whose upstream is gone:

git for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short) %(upstream:track)' refs/heads \
  | awk '$2=="[gone]"{print $1}' | xargs -r git branch -d

Stash and recover

Almost nothing committed is lost while it is in the reflog.

CommandEffect
git stash push -u -m "wip"Stash tracked and untracked files with a label.
git stash list, git stash popList; apply the top stash and drop it.
git reflogEvery HEAD move; find the lost commit.
git reset --hard <reflog-ref>Restore a discarded commit.
git bisect start, then good / badBinary-search the commit that broke something.

Reflog entries expire after 90 days when reachable and 30 when unreachable (gc.reflogExpire, gc.reflogExpireUnreachable).

Aliases

Put these under [alias] in ~/.gitconfig; keep only the ones you type daily.

[alias]
  st   = status -sb
  sw   = switch
  lg   = log --oneline --graph --all --decorate
  ds   = diff --staged
  ca   = commit --amend --no-edit
  undo = reset --soft HEAD~1
  pub  = push -u origin HEAD

Add one without editing the file: git config --global alias.st "status -sb"; remove it with git config --global --unset alias.st. Use --local for one repository.

Gotchas

Avoid these; each loses work or rewrites shared history.

GotchaFix
git pull creates surprise merge commits.git config --global pull.ff only (or pull.rebase true).
reset --hard, restore ., and clean -fd discard work with no undo.git stash -u first; preview with clean -nd.
push --force overwrites a teammate’s push.Use --force-with-lease.
git branch -d refuses a squash-merged branch.Confirm it is merged, then -D.
Aliases starting with ! run from the repo root.Use absolute paths or git rev-parse --show-toplevel.

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