Mastering Git: How Git Works for Developers

1. Key Concepts of Git

Before we dive into the workflow, here are some essential Git components:

• Workspace: Your project files where coding happens.
• Stage: The temporary area where changes are prepared for a commit.
• Local Repository: Your version-controlled project stored on your local machine.
• Remote Repository: The shared repository hosted on platforms like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket.

2. Git Workflow

Here’s how Git commands move your code through the system:

Step 1: Add changes to the Stage

Once you make changes to your files in the workspace, you add them to the staging area.

• Command: git add <filename>
• This tells Git, "Hey, I want these changes to be tracked!"

Step 2: Commit the changes locally

Once the changes are staged, you save them as a commit in your local repository.

• Command: git commit -m "Meaningful message here"
• Think of commits as "checkpoints" in your project history.

Step 3: Push to the Remote Repository

Share your local changes with your team by pushing them to a remote repository like GitHub.

• Command: git push
• Now everyone can see and pull your updates!

3. Syncing Changes: Pull, Fetch, and Merge

• git fetch: Retrieves changes from the remote repository without applying them to your local project.
• git merge: Combines fetched changes into your working branch.
• git pull: A combination of git fetch and git merge—it fetches and integrates remote changes into your local branch automatically.

4. Resetting Changes

Made a mistake? Don't worry—Git lets you reset changes with:

• Command: git reset

You can "unstage" changes, go back to previous commits, or rewrite commit history.

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