Git & Version Control

Version Control with Git

Git is the industry-standard distributed version control system for tracking changes in source code.

Core Concepts

• Repository: A directory tracked by Git
• Commit: A snapshot of changes with a message
• Branch: An independent line of development
• Remote: A shared repository (GitHub, GitLab)

Essential Commands

# Initialize and clone
git init
git clone [url]

# Stage and commit
git add .
git commit -m "message"

# Branching
git branch feature-x
git checkout -b feature-x
git merge feature-x

# Remote operations
git push origin main
git pull origin main
git fetch

Branching Strategies

• Git Flow: Feature, develop, release, hotfix branches
• GitHub Flow: Simple main + feature branches
• Trunk-Based: Short-lived branches, frequent merges

Best Practices

• Write meaningful commit messages
• Make small, focused commits
• Pull before pushing
• Use .gitignore for build artifacts