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Working Locally with Git

This article is a hands-on guide to using Git locally. All commands work without internet or GitHub.

Create a repository​

mkdir git-local-demo
cd git-local-demo
git init

What you see:

  • confirmation that the repository was initialized
  • a .git directory created

This directory contains the entire Git database.

Check repository status​

git status

What you see:

  • current branch
  • working tree status

This command shows where you are at all times.

Create and track a file​

echo "first line" > file.txt
git status

What you see:

  • file listed as untracked

Stage the file:

git add file.txt
git status

What you see:

  • file under "Changes to be committed"

Commit changes​

git commit -m "add first file"

What you see:

  • commit hash
  • summary of changes

This snapshot is now part of history.

View history​

git log --oneline

What you see:

  • list of commits
  • newest commit first

Modify a file​

echo "second line" >> file.txt
git status

What you see:

  • file marked as modified

View changes:

git diff

Commit modifications​

git add file.txt
git commit -m "add second line"

History now contains two snapshots.

Branching locally​

git branch feature
git checkout feature

What you see:

  • branch switch confirmation

Commits now belong to this branch.

Merge and rebase​

Merge:

git checkout main
git merge feature

Rebase:

git checkout feature
git rebase main

Merge preserves history. Rebase rewrites history.

View history graph​

git log --oneline --graph --all

This command shows the real shape of history.