Advanced Git Techniques | Version Control

1. Rebasing

Rebasing is a powerful technique that allows you to integrate changes from one branch into another. Unlike merging, which creates a new commit, rebasing rewrites the commit history.

To rebase your current branch onto another branch, use the following command:

git rebase <branch-name>

This will take all the commits from your current branch and replay them on top of the specified branch.

Example: If you are on the feature branch and want to rebase onto the main branch:

git checkout feature

git rebase main

Be cautious while rebasing, especially if you have already pushed your commits to a shared repository, as it can create conflicts.

2. Cherry Picking

Cherry picking allows you to select specific commits from one branch and apply them to another. This is useful when you want to merge only certain changes.

To cherry-pick a commit, you can use the command:

git cherry-pick <commit-hash>

This applies the changes from the specified commit to your current branch.

Example: To cherry-pick a commit with the hash abc123:

git cherry-pick abc123

3. Stashing Changes

Stashing is a way to save your uncommitted changes temporarily without committing them. This is useful when you need to switch branches but aren't ready to commit your changes.

To stash your changes, use:

git stash

To list your stashed changes:

git stash list

To apply the latest stash, use:

git stash apply

Example: If you want to stash and then apply your changes later:

git stash

git checkout another-branch

git stash apply

4. Git Hooks

Git hooks are scripts that run automatically at certain points in the Git workflow. They can be used to enforce policies, automate tasks, and more.

Hooks are located in the .git/hooks directory of your repository. Common hooks include pre-commit, post-commit, and pre-push.

Example: To create a pre-commit hook, you can create a file named pre-commit in the hooks directory:

touch .git/hooks/pre-commit

Make sure to give it executable permissions:

chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit

You can then add your script inside this file to run checks before each commit.

5. Interactive Rebase

Interactive rebase allows you to edit commit history in a more granular way. You can squash commits, edit commit messages, or drop commits altogether.

To start an interactive rebase, use:

git rebase -i HEAD~<number-of-commits>

This opens an editor where you can choose how to handle each commit.

Example: To rebase the last 3 commits:

git rebase -i HEAD~3

In the editor, you can change pick to squash to combine commits or edit to modify a commit.

6. Managing Remotes

Git allows you to manage multiple remote repositories. You can add, remove, and view remotes using the following commands:

git remote add <name> <url>

git remote remove <name>

git remote -v

This is useful when working with forks or collaborating with others.

Example: To add a new remote repository:

git remote add upstream https://github.com/other/repo.git