In most operating systems by default, files that start with a period (.) are hidden. When setting up my .gitignore file, I like to ignore all these hidden files (with a few exceptions).
Starter .gitignore file
This is my general starter .gitignore file for projects. I have a separate .gitignore for WordPress websites.
git add -p
By using “git add -p”, I can include some of my current changes in my commit (without including all of my changes).
What is a Git Branch?
While my mental model visualizes a Git branch as a stack of building blocks, in actuality a Git branch is a pointer to a single commit. Under the hood Git stores a text file for each branch and in the text file is a single line, which is the commit hash indicating the commit at the tip of that branch.
What is a Git Commit?
A Git commit, represented by a single building block in my Git mental model, is a frozen moment in time for your project (sometimes referred to as a snapshot). Along with this snapshot Git stores metadata about the commit (e.g. the author of the commit). Each commit has a unique identifier called the commit hash (a.k.a. SHA), a 40 character long alphanumeric string that is often abbreviated to just the first seven characters (e.g. “2b3a38b”).
Writing Good Commit Messages is the Wrong Place to Start
I’m a big fan of Git and I’ve worked with lost of developers in growing their Git skills. Often developers learning Git, start by learning how to write a “good” commit message. While writing “good” commit messages is an important skill, in my opinion it is the wrong place to start.
Rules for Writing Git Commit Messages
These are the rules I follow when writing Git commit messages. I’ve found these serve me well and are compatible with most projects I work on (if a project has a specific set of rules for writing Git commit messages, those would override any rules I’ve outlined here).
Resolving Git Rebase Merge Conflicts
When performing a Git rebase, I often find myself in the situation where I have one or more merge conflicts. This is how I resolve these merge conflicts.
Git Rebase with Blocks
We can’t do a fast-forward merge when the most recent commit on the receiving branch does not appear in the branch we are merging in. One of our options in this situation is to rebase the branch we want to merge in.
Visualizing Git Branching with Blocks
When visualizing Git branches, I find it easier to think of them as stacks of building blocks rather than the traditional Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) visualizations.