Every developer uses Git. But do you know the commands that save your code, organize your work, and prevent costly mistakes?
Before the commands make sense, the model has to. Your changes move through four places:
Working Directory -> Staging Area -> Local Repository -> Remote Repository
git add git commit git push
Every command below moves work between those four. This 2-minute tutorial walks all of them with one consistent Ruby on Rails payment feature.
The six you use constantly:
git status see what changed, and what is staged
git switch -c feature/payment create a branch and move onto it
git diff inspect unstaged changes
git add app/models/payment.rb choose exactly what goes in the next commit
git commit -m "Add payment validation" save a snapshot, locally
git log --oneline explore the history you built
A complete workflow:
git switch -c feature/payment
git add .
git commit -m "Add payment feature"
git push -u origin feature/payment # -u sets the upstream tracking branch
git switch main
git pull # fetches AND integrates into this branch
Three more worth remembering:
git restore file.rb discards unstaged changes in that file — this throws the work away
git stash sets tracked changes aside (add -u to include untracked files)
git fetch downloads remote updates, but does NOT merge them into your branch
Details that trip people up:
- git diff with no arguments shows UNSTAGED changes, not staged ones.
- git commit saves to your local repository. Nothing is uploaded until you push.
- git pull fetches and integrates. git fetch only downloads — that's the difference.
- git restore can permanently discard uncommitted work. Check git status first.
Always know what a command changes before you run it.
Chapters:
00:00 — Git Commands Every Developer Should Know
00:10 — The Problem Every Developer Faces
00:25 — What Is Git?
00:40 — Essential Git Commands
01:10 — A Practical Git Workflow
01:30 — Useful Commands and Best Practices
01:45 — The Takeaway
Master the commands. Control your code.
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