Basic Git commands - AWS CodeCommit
Configuration variablesRemote repositoriesCommitsBranchesTags

Basic Git commands

You can use Git to work with a local repo and the CodeCommit repository to which you've connected the local repo.

The following are some basic examples of frequently used Git commands.

For more options, see your Git documentation.

Configuration variables

Lists all configuration variables.

git config --list

Lists only local configuration variables.

git config --local -l

Lists only system configuration variables.

git config --system -l

Lists only global configuration variables.

git config --global -l

Sets a configuration variable in the specified configuration file.

git config [--local | --global | --system] variable-name variable-value
Sets the default branch name to main for all local repositories when an initial commit is made to a repository that does not yet have a default branch git config --global init.defaultBranch main

Edits a configuration file directly. Can also be used to discover the location of a specific configuration file. To exit edit mode, typically you type :q (to exit without saving changes) or :wq (to save changes and then exit), and then press Enter.

git config [--local | --global | --system] --edit

Remote repositories

Initializes a local repo in preparation for connecting it to an CodeCommit repository.

git init

Can be used to set up a connection between a local repo and a remote repository (such as a CodeCommit repository) using the specified nickname the local repo has for the CodeCommit repository and the specified URL to the CodeCommit repository.

git remote add remote-name remote-url

Creates a local repo by making a copy of a CodeCommit repository at the specified URL, in the specified subfolder of the current folder on the local machine. This command also creates a remote tracking branch for each branch in the cloned CodeCommit repository and creates and checks out an initial branch that is forked from the current default branch in the cloned CodeCommit repository.

git clone remote-url local-subfolder-name

Shows the nickname the local repo uses for the CodeCommit repository.

git remote

Shows the nickname and the URL the local repo uses for fetches and pushes to the CodeCommit repository.

git remote -v

Pushes finalized commits from the local repo to the CodeCommit repository, using the specified nickname the local repo has for the CodeCommit repository and the specified branch. Also sets up upstream tracking information for the local repo during the push.

git push -u remote-name branch-name
Pushes finalized commits from the local repo to the CodeCommit repository after upstream tracking information is set.

git push

Pulls finalized commits to the local repo from the CodeCommit repository, using the specified nickname the local repo has for the CodeCommit repository and the specified branch

git pull remote-name branch-name
Pulls finalized commits to the local repo from the CodeCommit repository after upstream tracking information is set.

git pull

Disconnects the local repo from the CodeCommit repository, using the specified nickname the local repo has for the CodeCommit repository.

git remote rm remote-name

Commits

Shows what has or hasn't been added to the pending commit in the local repo.

git status

Shows what has or hasn't been added to the pending commit in the local repo in a concise format.

(M = modified, A = added, D = deleted, and so on)

git status -sb

Shows changes between the pending commit and the latest commit in the local repo.

git diff HEAD

Adds specific files to the pending commit in the local repo.

git add [file-name-1 file-name-2 file-name-N | file-pattern]

Adds all new, modified, and deleted files to the pending commit in the local repo.

git add

Begins finalizing the pending commit in the local repo, which displays an editor to provide a commit message. After the message is entered, the pending commit is finalized.

git commit

Finalizes the pending commit in the local repo, including specifying a commit message at the same time.

git commit -m "Some meaningful commit comment"

Lists recent commits in the local repo.

git log

Lists recent commits in the local repo in a graph format.

git log --graph

Lists recent commits in the local repo in a predefined condensed format.

git log --pretty=oneline

Lists recent commits in the local repo in a predefined condensed format, with a graph.

git log --graph --pretty=oneline

Lists recent commits in the local repo in a custom format, with a graph.

(For more options, see Git Basics - Viewing the Commit History)

git log --graph --pretty=format:"%H (%h) : %cn : %ar : %s"

Branches

Lists all branches in the local repo with an asterisk (*) displayed next to your current branch.

git branch

Pulls information about all existing branches in the CodeCommit repository to the local repo.

git fetch

Lists all branches in the local repo and remote tracking branches in the local repo.

git branch -a

Lists only remote tracking branches in the local repo.

git branch -r

Creates a new branch in the local repo using the specified branch name.

git branch new-branch-name

Switches to another branch in the local repo using the specified branch name.

git checkout other-branch-name

Creates a new branch in the local repo using the specified branch name, and then switches to it.

git checkout -b new-branch-name

Pushes a new branch from the local repo to the CodeCommit repository using the specified nickname the local repo has for the CodeCommit repository and the specified branch name. Also sets up upstream tracking information for the branch in the local repo during the push.

git push -u remote-name new-branch-name

Creates a new branch in the local repo using the specified branch name. Then connects the new branch in the local repo to an existing branch in the CodeCommit repository, using the specified nickname the local repo has for the CodeCommit repository and the specified branch name.

git branch --track new-branch-name remote-name/remote-branch-name

Merges changes from another branch in the local repo to the current branch in the local repo.

git merge from-other-branch-name

Deletes a branch in the local repo unless it contains work that has not been merged.

git branch -d branch-name

Deletes a branch in the CodeCommit repository using the specified nickname the local repo has for the CodeCommit repository and the specified branch name. (Note the use of the colon (:).)

git push remote-name :branch-name

Tags

Lists all tags in the local repo.

git tag

Pulls all tags from the CodeCommit repository to the local repo.

git fetch --tags

Shows information about a specific tag in the local repo.

git show tag-name

Creates a "lightweight" tag in the local repo.

git tag tag-name commit-id-to-point-tag-at

Pushes a specific tag from the local repo to the CodeCommit repository using the specified nickname the local repo has for the CodeCommit repository and the specified tag name.

git push remote-name tag-name

Pushes all tags from the local repo to the CodeCommit repository using the specified nickname the local repo has for the CodeCommit repository.

git push remote-name --tags

Deletes a tag in the local repo.

git tag -d tag-name

Deletes a tag in the CodeCommit repository using the specified nickname the local repo has for the CodeCommit repository and the specified tag name. (Note the use of the colon (:).)

git push remote-name :tag-name