git-poem.txt

Master Git-Fu
=============

* @craig552uk
* github.com/craig552uk/git-poem



Git is such a mysterious tool,
so many commands and options, I am an ignorant fool.

I add. I commit. I merge, pull and push,
everything else turns my mind to mush.

I use aliases that make me feel 1337,
but when I dance with this devil, I have two left feet.

Panic! Merge conflict! Lost in a diff avalanche!
My detached head is left swinging from a branch.


Enough is enough! This will not do.
I will learn the ways of the repo. I will master Git-Fu!


I learn that a commit is a diff, with a little meta-data
it has a unique hash, so you can check it out later.

Commits have parents and children, which form a great tree
they branch apart and merge together. This is a repository.

Changes in your code are added to the stage.
This is not yet a commit, but where a commit is made.

Once your changes are staged, and you are happy with what you wrote,
they can be committed as one. Be sure to write a useful note.


(HEAD) is a pointer to what you can currently see,
you can checkout any part of your code base history.

(tag: is-a-label) for marking a commit,
perhaps use them for releases, so you can quickly find it.

(git-branch) creates a fork in the commit tree
Use it to work on ideas, safe in your repository

And remember that a branch (like a tag) is just a label on a commit,
you can, if you want, very easily move it.


Though if you do, you may have to push with --force
but only then if the remote complains, of course.

To reuse a commit buried deep elsewhere,
(cherry-pick) can lift it out and apply it over here.

(git-stash) will keep uncommitted changes out the way,
when you're ready, you can bring them back into play.

A detached head (with Git) is no cause for concern.
It's just a commit without a branch (or so I have learned).


Now if you want to share your work you might just push and pray
but to fetch and rebase is much cleaner, safer, way.

Fetch brings the commits from a remote repository,
you should aim to organise your work with a neat history.

Personally, I like to rebase first
this replays my commits on top of previous work.

Then to make reading the history much easier and faster,
I merge, with --no-ff, this branch into master.


I have much more to learn before I become a Git Master,
But I'm confident I have the knowledge to avert repo disaster.

If you struggle with Git, if you're sometime unsure what to do,
I hope these silly rhymes help you on your journey to Git Fu.