Tough Git Interview Questions and Answers

The Complete Git Interview Questions List!

If you want a job as a developer or programmer, you have to know Git.??

You have to know Git inside out.??

125 GIT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR FREE!

I spent the last three months interviewing experts to find the most frequently asked Git Interview Questions.

I've categorized them and ranked then on difficultly, and I've made them available to you here for free.??

Consider this my gift to you!??

Now do some prep and ace that technical interview!

G I T F U N D A M E N T A L S

?? Who invented Git and why?

??? What are the prerequisites to install Git?

????How would you explain Git to a 5 year old?

??How would you explain Git to a Python developer?

?? What is a Git repository?

??What are the different states a file can be in according to the "git status" command?

?? What does BASH in stand for?

?? How would you compare Git to a traditional version control tool like CVS?

?? How do you exit VIM?

??? What is the purpose of Git GUI?

?? Are there any types of files you can't commit to Git?

?? What does a Git repository typically contain?

?? How can you tell if a folder contains a Git repository?

?? Is there a difference between a local and a remote Git repo?

?? What is unique about a bare repo?

??? How do you create or initialize a bare repository?

?? What is a clone in Git? How do you clone a remote repo?

?? What is a fork? Is a fork part of Git?

?? Name three popular Git GUI tools.

C O M M O N G I T C O M M A N D S

??Name some git commit message best practcies.

??Why must you add files to the Git Index?

? What does the "git log" command do?

? What does the "git reflog" command do?

?? What does it mean to 'git log a dog?'

? What common switches are used with the commit command?

?? How would you explain the Git index to a 5 year old?

?? How do you undo the previous commit?

?? What does "git commit -a" do?

?? Can "git commit -a" be used with new files?

???What two properties must be set in your config before a commit can take place?

??Name four Git config scopes.

?? Explain the commit workflow in Git.

?? Where is Git configuration stored?

?? Does Git support pull requests?

?? Can you revert a single file from a commit?

?? What's the difference between revert and reset?

?? How do you find a listing of files that were included in a commit?

?? What does it mean to squash a commit?

?? When would you issue a "git pull"?

?? What does origin typically refer to?

?? What impact does a fetch have on your local worktree?

? What happens to files in the index during a soft reset?

? What happens to files in the index during a hard reset?

? What happens to files in the working tree during a mixed reset?

?? When would you use pull vs fetch?

?? Why might a git pull be rejected?

G I T B R A N C H I N G

?? What is a branch in Git?

?? What is a 'topic branch?'

?? How do Git branches support isolated development?

?? What is special about the master branch?

?? Can you delete the master branch?

?? Does Git support branch protection?

?? What does HEAD represent in Git?

?? What is a detached HEAD?

?? How do you clone a specific branch?

?? How do you clone a specific commit?

?? How do you fix a detached HEAD?

?? Why has the master branch been renamed to main?

?? How do you delete a Git branch?

?? Is it possible to recover a deleted branch?

?? How do you create a new Git branch?

?? Can the tip of two branches share the same commit id?

?? What are "remote tracking branches" in Git?

?? When do you use a "git cherry-pick"?

?? Can you "git cherry-pick" a commit from the same branch?

?? What's the relationship between a revert and a cherry-pick?

M E R G E S T R A T E G I E S & C O N F L I C T S

?? When should a developer merge code?

?? Can you merge code within the same branch?

?? What would trigger a merge conflict?

?? Explain to me how you go about resolving a merge conflict.

?? Explain to me what an octopus merge strategy does as if I was a 5 year old.

??? What happens to files that are problematic during a mere conflict.

?? Explain to me what a recursive merge strategy does like I was a Python developer.

??? How do you abort a commit when there is a merge conflict.

?? Explain the 'ours merge strategy' to me.

?? How do you permanentaly resolve a merge conflict?

?? Compare and contrast a merge vs a rebase.

?? What are different merge strategies?

?? What is a fast forward merge?

?? How do you turn fast-forward merging off?

?? Explain resolve merge strategy to me like I was a Python developer.

?? Explain the subtree merge strategy to me like I was a Python developer.

T A G S

??? What is a Git tag and when should you use one?

??? What does "git tag" do to your commit history?

??? Can you reset to a Git tag?

S W I T C H E S & H O O K S

? What does the "git checkout" command do?

? What does the "git switch" command do?

? Which should you use, checkout or switch?

?? What is a Git hook?

?? What type of event can trigger a Git hook?

A D V A N C E D G I T

?? When would you use the 'git diff' command?

?? What happens when a file already added to the repo is added to the .gitignore file?

??? Compare and contrast a fast forward merge with a recursive merge

?? Name two key benefits Git's branch model provides developers.

?? What does 'git log a dog' mean?

?? What is the effect a Git merge has on the commit history when compared to a Git rebase?

?? Why is a rebase safer than a forced push?

?? What's the difference between a revert and reset?

?? When would you use Git's "blame" command?

?? When would you use a Git submodule?

?? When would clone a Git repo, are all of the submodules clones as well?

? What happens when you ammend a commit?

?? What's the difference between "git clone" and "git pull?"

?? What's the difference between HEAD and a commit id?

?? What is the difference between git log and reflog?

?? What does the Git clean command do?

?? How would you remove all untracked files in Git?

?? When would you use the "git bisect" command?

G I T S T A S H

?? When would you use the Git Stash command?

?? How do you create a Git stash?

?? What files are affected by the Git stash command?

?? When would you use the "git stash apply" command?

?? What's the difference between "git stash pop" and "git stash apply?"

?? When would you drop a Git stash?

?? What does "git stash list" do?

?? Can you pop a Git stash by its name?

G I T & G I T H U B

?? What's the difference between Git and GitHub?

?? Who owns GitHub?

?? Name three features GitHub provides that Git does not.

??How do you push an existing project to GitHub?

??How do you clone a GitHub repo over HTTP?

??What is a GitHub access token and how do you create one?

?? How do you push a new local branch to an existing GitHub repo?

?? What is required to authenticate to GitHub with SSH?

??What's the difference between GitHub and GitLab?

??Why might a company choose BitBucket over GitHub?

?? How can you view the commit history of a specific file in GitHub?

??What's the difference between a fork and a clone?

G I T W O R K F L O W S

?? What are the benefits of using a branch strategy like GitFlow?

?? Briefly explain how GitFlow works?

?? Why would a team use GitHub Flow?

?? What's the difference between GitHub Flow and GitLab Flow?

?? What two branches are never deleted in GitFlow?

Okay, that's it! That's 125 tough Git interview questions.

Now it doesn't matter if you are into Python, Java, JavaScript, Kotlin, DevOps, Scrum, Agile or Swift, you've got to know Git.

Get ready with answers to these questions and you'll definitely ace the Git part of the software development interview!

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