Git Reference

I’ve been using git for years now but there are commands I use every day while others, not so much.

New repository

Create a new repository on GitHub at https://repo.new/. Then locally, run:

echo "# anything" >> README.md
git init
git add README.md
git commit -m "first commit"
git branch -M main
git remote add origin git@github.com:/<your-github-username>/<repository-name>.git
git push -u origin main

Push a new repository

git remote add origin git@github.com:/<your-github-username>/<repository-name>.git
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main

Removing something from git

Because I forgot my .gitignore and the node_modules directory got committed again. Create the .gitignore file this time and run:

git rm -r --cached node_modules
git commit -am "Removed node_modules directory"

Committing a modified file in a submodule

cd inside the submodule directory then add and commit to git from there. You can then go to your project directory and add and commit to git as normal.

Pushing a repo to a different GitHub account

List all git config settings: git config --list

Set local repository name and email config:

git config --local user.name "<github username>"
git config --local user.email "<github email>"

Set global repository name and email config:

git config --global user.name "<github username>"
git config --global user.email "<github email>"

Modify your ssh config at ~/.ssh/config:

Host github.com-acct1
    User git
    HostName github.com
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/github_private_key1
    IdentitiesOnly yes

Host github.com-acct2
    User git
    HostName github.com
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/github_private_key2
    IdentitiesOnly yes

git push should now be authenticated for the new account.

If pushing still prompts you for a username and password, ensure that the remote url is set to the ssh location instead of the https URL. To reset the URL: git remote set-url origin git@github.com:/<your-github-username>/<repository-name>.git

To troubleshoot the ssh connection: ssh -vT git@github.com

Pull without incurring a merge commit

git pull --rebase

Put all uncommitted changes in temporary storage

git stash

To retrieve the last stored change: git stash pop To remove the last stashed change: git stash drop

Git is prompting for a username and password when attempting to push instead of using the SSH key

If Git is prompting for a username and password instead of using your SSH key when pushing to GitHub, it’s likely because you’re using the HTTPS remote URL instead of the SSH URL. To fix this, you need to change the remote URL to use the SSH protocol.

  1. Verify the remote URL: git remote -v
  2. Change to SSH remote URL: git remote set-url origin git@github.com:owner/repo.git