

If you find yourself in this situation, there are a few very important things to remember: Sometimes, you may need to change history. To see all of the possible options you have with git commit, check out Git's documentation. git commit -amend: Replaces the most recent commit with a new commit.The addition of -a will automatically stage any files that are already being tracked by Git (changes to files that you've committed before). git commit -am "descriptive commit message": In addition to including the commit message, this option allows you to skip the staging phase.git commit -m "descriptive commit message": This starts the commit process, and allows you to include the commit message at the same time.(To get out, press esc, then :w, and then Enter. If you haven't configured anything, there's a good chance this will be VI or Vim. git commit: This starts the commit process, but since it doesn't include a -m flag for the message, your default text editor will be opened for you to create the commit message.
GIT STATUS STAGED HOW TO
How to Use Git Commit Common usages and options for Git Commit You can also use a handy command, git add -p, to walk through the changes and separate them out, even if they're in the same file. Staging, or adding, files, is possible through the command line, and also possible with most Git interfaces like GitHub Desktop by selecting the lines or files that you'd like to stage. Git only looks to the staging area to find out what to commit. Without adding any files, the command git commit won't work. Once you're ready to craft your commits, you'll use git add to specify the files that you'd like to "stage" for commit. You may get carried away and end up solving two or three problems before you remember to commit! That's OK - Git can handle that.

Commits should be logical, atomic units of change that represent a specific idea. Git can handle it! Committing in two phasesĬommits have two phases to help you craft commits properly. As long as you're working with text files, you won't need to worry about how many files you have, how big they are, or how many commits you make. Ĭommits are lightweight SHA hashes, objects within Git. Before you commit, you will need to stage any new changes that you'd like to include in the commit using git add. Commits are created on the branch that you're currently checked out to (wherever HEAD is pointing) so it's always a good idea to run git status before making a commit, to check that you're checked-out to the branch that you intend to be.

You can make commits to different branches, and specify exactly what changes you want to include. Git commit -m "update the README.md with link to contributing guide " Commits shape historyīy using commits, you're able to craft history intentionally and safely.
