Mastering Advanced Git Commands: A Practical Guide

If you’ve been using Git for a while, you probably know the basics — clone, commit, push, pull. But Git is a powerful tool, and there's a whole world beyond the basics that can make your workflow faster, cleaner, and smarter. In this blog, we'll dive into advanced Git commands that every developer should know! git stash — Save Work Without Committing Ever got stuck when you need to switch branches but don’t want to commit half-done work? git stash It saves your changes in a "stash" and cleans your working directory. Later, you can reapply the stashed changes with: git stash pop Tip: You can even stash with a message: git stash save "WIP: fixing login bug" 2.git cherry-pick — Apply Specific Commits Want to pick a single commit from one branch and apply it to another? git cherry-pick Great for moving small bug fixes without merging entire branches. 3.git rebase— Rewrite History Cleanly Instead of a messy merge, you can reapply commits on top of another branch: git checkout feature-branch git rebase main Makes history linear and clean. Interactive rebasing (git rebase -i) even lets you squash commits together! git rebase -i HEAD~5 You can pick, squash, or reword commits easily during interactive rebase. 4.git reflog — Find Lost Commits Deleted a branch or a commit accidentally? Don’t worry! git reflog It shows a log of everything you've done, including commits that aren't reachable anymore. You can recover with: git checkout 5.git reset — Undo Changes Soft reset (keep changes but unstage): git reset --soft HEAD~1 Mixed reset (unstage and keep working directory): git reset --mixed HEAD~1 Hard reset (dangerous! discard changes): git reset --hard HEAD~1 Use hard resets carefully — once changes are gone, they're usually gone for good unless you use reflog. 6.git bisect — Find Bugs Faster Git can automatically help you find the commit where a bug was introduced! Start bisecting: git bisect start Mark the current version as bad: git bisect bad Mark an older working version as good: git bisect good Git will checkout commits one by one — you test and tell Git whether it's "good" or "bad" until it narrows down the exact problematic commit. 7.git tag — Mark Important Points Use tags for releases, versions, or milestones. Create a lightweight tag: git tag v1.0 Create an annotated tag: git tag -a v1.0 -m "Release version 1.0" Push tags: git push origin v1.0 Or push all tags: git push origin --tags 8.git clean — Remove Untracked Files Want to remove junk (files not tracked by Git)? Preview what would be deleted: git clean -n Actually delete them: git clean -f Be very careful with git clean — it’s powerful! 9.git remote prune — Clean Up Deleted Branches Sometimes remote branches get deleted, but you still see them locally. Clean them up with: git remote prune origin 10.git shortlog — Summarize Contributions Want to generate a quick summary of who contributed? git shortlog -sn You'll get a list of contributors sorted by the number of commits! Final Thoughts Learning these advanced Git commands will: Save you time Help you recover faster Keep your repositories cleaner Impress your team! If you're serious about becoming a Git pro, practice these commands on a test repository first. Over time, they’ll become second nature. If you found this helpful, don't forget to ❤️ the post and follow for more tips! Feel free to comment your favorite Git tricks below!

Apr 28, 2025 - 17:01

Mastering Advanced Git Commands: A Practical Guide

If you’ve been using Git for a while, you probably know the basics — clone, commit, push, pull.
But Git is a powerful tool, and there's a whole world beyond the basics that can make your workflow faster, cleaner, and smarter.

In this blog, we'll dive into advanced Git commands that every developer should know!

git stash — Save Work Without Committing Ever got stuck when you need to switch branches but don’t want to commit half-done work?

git stash

It saves your changes in a "stash" and cleans your working directory.

Later, you can reapply the stashed changes with:

git stash pop

Tip: You can even stash with a message:

git stash save "WIP: fixing login bug"

2.git cherry-pick — Apply Specific Commits
Want to pick a single commit from one branch and apply it to another?

git cherry-pick

Great for moving small bug fixes without merging entire branches.

3.git rebase— Rewrite History Cleanly
Instead of a messy merge, you can reapply commits on top of another branch:

git checkout feature-branch git rebase main

Makes history linear and clean.

Interactive rebasing (git rebase -i) even lets you squash commits together!

git rebase -i HEAD~5

You can pick, squash, or reword commits easily during interactive rebase.

4.git reflog — Find Lost Commits
Deleted a branch or a commit accidentally? Don’t worry!

git reflog

It shows a log of everything you've done, including commits that aren't reachable anymore.

You can recover with:

git checkout

5.git reset — Undo Changes
Soft reset (keep changes but unstage):

git reset --soft HEAD~1

Mixed reset (unstage and keep working directory):

git reset --mixed HEAD~1

Hard reset (dangerous! discard changes):

git reset --hard HEAD~1

Use hard resets carefully — once changes are gone, they're usually gone for good unless you use reflog.

6.git bisect — Find Bugs Faster
Git can automatically help you find the commit where a bug was introduced!

Start bisecting:

git bisect start

Mark the current version as bad:

git bisect bad

Mark an older working version as good:

git bisect good

Git will checkout commits one by one — you test and tell Git whether it's "good" or "bad" until it narrows down the exact problematic commit.

7.git tag — Mark Important Points
Use tags for releases, versions, or milestones.

Create a lightweight tag:

git tag v1.0

Create an annotated tag:

git tag -a v1.0 -m "Release version 1.0"

Push tags:

git push origin v1.0

Or push all tags:

git push origin --tags

8.git clean — Remove Untracked Files
Want to remove junk (files not tracked by Git)?

Preview what would be deleted:

git clean -n

Actually delete them:

git clean -f

Be very careful with git clean — it’s powerful!

9.git remote prune — Clean Up Deleted Branches
Sometimes remote branches get deleted, but you still see them locally. Clean them up with:

git remote prune origin

10.git shortlog — Summarize Contributions
Want to generate a quick summary of who contributed?

git shortlog -sn

You'll get a list of contributors sorted by the number of commits!

Final Thoughts

Learning these advanced Git commands will:

Save you time

Help you recover faster

Keep your repositories cleaner

Impress your team!

If you're serious about becoming a Git pro, practice these commands on a test repository first.
Over time, they’ll become second nature.

If you found this helpful, don't forget to ❤️ the post and follow for more tips!
Feel free to comment your favorite Git tricks below!