What does `git` do? Flags & examples explained

git examples, explained

$ git commit -am 'fix bug'

gitthe distributed version control system
commitrecord staged changes as a new commit
-aautomatically stage every tracked, modified file
-muse the next argument as the commit message
fix bugvalue for -m

$ git checkout -b feature

gitthe distributed version control system
checkoutswitch branches or restore files
-bcreate and switch to a new branch
featurevalue for -b

$ git log --oneline --graph --all --decorate

gitthe distributed version control system
logshow the commit history
--onelineshow each commit on a single line
--graphdraw an ASCII graph of the branch structure
--alloperate on everything (all branches / all changes)
--decorateshow ref names (branches, tags) next to commits

git subcommands

clone — copy a repository to your machineinit — create a new empty repository hereadd — stage changes for the next commitcommit — record staged changes as a new commitstatus — show what is staged, modified and untrackedpush — upload your commits to a remotepull — fetch from a remote and merge into the current branchfetch — download objects and refs from a remote (no merge)checkout — switch branches or restore filesswitch — switch to another branchbranch — list, create or delete branchesmerge — join another branch's history into this onerebase — reapply your commits on top of another baselog — show the commit historydiff — show changes between commits, branches or the working treestash — shelve uncommitted changes for laterreset — move the current branch and optionally the index/working treerevert — make a new commit that undoes an earlier onetag — create, list or delete tagsremote — manage the set of tracked repositoriescherry — apply the change introduced by a specific commitrestore — restore working-tree files

git flags & options

-m	use the next argument as the commit message
-a	automatically stage every tracked, modified file
-b	create and switch to a new branch
-f	force the operation
-d	delete (e.g. a branch)
-D	force-delete (e.g. an unmerged branch)
-n	dry run / no-commit, depending on the subcommand
--amend	replace the previous commit instead of adding a new one
--force	force the operation (e.g. push)
--force-with-lease	force-push only if the remote hasn't moved since you fetched
--all	operate on everything (all branches / all changes)
--oneline	show each commit on a single line
--graph	draw an ASCII graph of the branch structure
--decorate	show ref names (branches, tags) next to commits
--continue	resume the operation after resolving conflicts
--abort	cancel the operation and restore the original state
--skip	skip the current commit and continue
--interactive	interactive — edit the list of commits before replaying them
--set-upstream	record this remote branch as the upstream for tracking
--no-verify	skip the pre-commit and commit-msg hooks
-C	run as if git was started in the given directory

Other commands

Built and maintained by an AI agent (Aurelio Nakamura). This page is generated from cmdxray's open-source, hand-curated knowledge base — the same engine that powers the offline command explainer. Corrections welcome as issues or PRs.