Git Advanced Command Cheatsheet

Q: What is the difference between git rebase --onto and regular rebase?

Regular rebase replays commits from the current branch onto the tip of another. --onto allows you to transplant a subset of commits onto a completely different base, useful for moving a sub-branch off a feature branch or migrating from an outdated base.

Q: How do I use git bisect to quickly find the commit that introduced a bug?

Run git bisect start, then mark one known good commit and one known bad commit. Git will binary search and checkout intermediate commits for you to test. Run git bisect good or git bisect bad for each, and Git pinpoints the first bad commit.

Q: Do reflog entries persist forever?

No. Reflog entries expire after 90 days by default (for reachable commits) and 30 days (for unreachable commits). Use git reflog expire to manually clean up, or adjust gc.reflogExpire configuration.

Q: What is the difference between cherry-pick -n and a regular cherry-pick?

A regular cherry-pick automatically creates a new commit. With -n (--no-commit), changes are applied to the working tree and index but not committed, allowing you to make further modifications or combine multiple cherry-picks into one commit.

Q: What does git submodule update --init --recursive do?

It initializes any uninitialized submodules, updates them to the recorded commit, and recursively processes nested submodules. This is typically run after cloning a repository that uses submodules.

Q: When is git worktree especially useful?

When you need to work on multiple branches of the same repository simultaneously (e.g., fixing a bug while developing a feature), worktree lets you check out different branches into separate directories without stashing or cloning, all sharing one repository.

This cheatsheet is designed for developers who already know basic Git. It covers interactive rebase, binary search, reflog, cherry-pick, submodule management, and worktrees. Mastering these commands will significantly boost your daily productivity.

Updated: 2026-07-17·37 commands

Overview

This cheatsheet covers advanced Git operations beyond the basic workflow. Master these commands to handle complex version control scenarios with confidence.

Quick Start

``bash git rebase -i HEAD~3 # Interactive rebase last 3 commits git reflog # View reference log git bisect start # Start binary search``

Refer to the command table below for detailed usage.

Rebase(13)

Command	Level	Example
`git rebase -i [base]` Interactive rebase that allows editing, squashing, deleting, and reordering commits	Intermediate	`git rebase -i HEAD~5`
`git rebase --onto newbase oldbase [branch]` Rebase commits from branch that follow oldbase onto newbase, for precise commit transplanting	Expert	`git rebase --onto master feature~3 feature`
`git rebase --abort` Abort the current rebase with conflicts and restore the original state	Intermediate	`git rebase --abort`
`git rebase --continue` Continue the rebase operation after resolving conflicts	Intermediate	`git rebase --continue`
`git rebase --skip` Skip the current commit causing conflicts and continue rebasing	Intermediate	`git rebase --skip`
`git stash -u [message]` Stash working directory changes including untracked files (--include-untracked)	Intermediate	`git stash -u WIP-refactoring`
`git stash --keep-index [message]` Stash working directory changes but keep staged changes intact (preserve index)	Intermediate	`git stash --keep-index "temp save unstaged"`
`git stash branch branchname [stash]` Create a new branch from a stash and apply the stash, useful when stash pop fails due to conflicts	Expert	`git stash branch fix-feature stash@{1}`
`git clean -fd` Force remove all untracked files and directories from the working tree	Intermediate	`git clean -fd`
`git grep [pattern] [revision]` Search the Git repository for lines matching a pattern, supports searching in specific revisions	Intermediate	`git grep "TODO" v2.0.0`
`git shortlog [options]` Summarize commit logs by author, commonly used for generating changelogs	Intermediate	`git shortlog -sn --since="2026-01-01"`
`git describe [ref]` Generate a human-readable name for a commit based on the nearest tag, format tag-N-gHASH	Intermediate	`git describe --tags --abbrev=4 HEAD`
`git rebase --abort` Abort an in-progress rebase and return to the pre-rebase state	Basic	`git rebase --abort`

Bisect(5)

Command	Level	Example
`git bisect start [bad [good...]]` Start a bisect session, marking known good and bad commit ranges	Expert	`git bisect start HEAD v1.0.0`
`git bisect bad [rev]` Mark the current or specified revision as bad (contains the bug)	Expert	`git bisect bad`
`git bisect good [rev]` Mark the current or specified revision as good (does not contain the bug)	Expert	`git bisect good v1.0.0`
`git bisect reset` End the bisect session and restore HEAD to the original position	Expert	`git bisect reset`
`git bisect log` Show the current bisect session log, useful for replaying or debugging the process	Expert	`git bisect log`

Reflog(3)

Command	Level	Example
`git reflog show [ref]` Show the operation history of a reference (default HEAD), useful for recovering lost commits	Intermediate	`git reflog show --date=iso HEAD`
`git reflog delete [entry]` Delete a specific entry from the reflog	Expert	`git reflog delete HEAD@{2}`
`git reflog expire [options]` Expire old reflog entries and clean up, usually run automatically by git gc	Expert	`git reflog expire --expire=30.days --all`

Cherry-pick(5)

Command	Level	Example
`git cherry-pick [commit]` Apply the changes from a specific commit to the current branch, creating a new commit	Intermediate	`git cherry-pick a1b2c3d`
`git cherry-pick -n [commit]` Apply changes from a commit to working tree and index without auto-committing	Intermediate	`git cherry-pick -n a1b2c3d`
`git cherry-pick -x [commit]` Apply a commit and append a source reference in the commit message (cherry picked from ...)	Intermediate	`git cherry-pick -x a1b2c3d`
`git cherry-pick --signoff [commit]` Apply a commit and add a Signed-off-by trailer line to the commit message	Intermediate	`git cherry-pick --signoff a1b2c3d`
`git cherry-pick <commit>` Apply changes from a specific commit to the current branch	Basic	`git cherry-pick abc123`

Submodules(6)

Command	Level	Example
`git submodule add [repository] [path]` Add a new submodule to the repository	Intermediate	`git submodule add https://github.com/example/lib lib`
`git submodule update [--init] [--recursive]` Update submodules to their registered commit, --init initializes uninitialized ones	Intermediate	`git submodule update --init --recursive`
`git submodule init` Initialize submodule configurations based on the .gitmodules file	Intermediate	`git submodule init`
`git submodule foreach [command]` Execute a command in each submodule	Expert	`git submodule foreach git pull origin main`
`git submodule status [--recursive]` Show the current status of submodules, including commit hash and initialization state	Intermediate	`git submodule status --recursive`
`git submodule deinit [path]` Unregister a submodule, removing its working tree while keeping .gitmodules config	Expert	`git submodule deinit -f lib`

Worktrees(5)

Command	Level	Example
`git worktree add [path] [branch]` Check out a new working tree in a new directory, attached to the specified branch	Intermediate	`git worktree add ../hotfix hotfix-branch`
`git worktree list` List all worktrees associated with this repo, their paths, and branch info	Intermediate	`git worktree list`
`git worktree prune [options]` Prune working tree records for worktrees that have been removed or are unreachable	Expert	`git worktree prune --expire 30.days`
`git worktree remove [path]` Remove a working tree at the specified path while keeping the repository data	Intermediate	`git worktree remove ../hotfix`
`git worktree lock [path]` Lock a working tree to prevent it from being pruned or removed	Intermediate	`git worktree lock ../hotfix --reason "active bugfix"`

FAQ

What is the difference between git rebase --onto and regular rebase?

How do I use git bisect to quickly find the commit that introduced a bug?

Do reflog entries persist forever?

What is the difference between cherry-pick -n and a regular cherry-pick?

What does git submodule update --init --recursive do?

When is git worktree especially useful?

This cheatsheet is compiled from official tool documentation. Last updated: 2026-07-17.