Workspaces¶

Git manages multiple locations or workspaces where files are stored:

local working copy: contains files and folders that can be edited normally.
staging area: contains changes to files that are scheduled for writing into the version history.
local repository: contains the entire history of all files in the project.
remote repository: also contains the entire history, but is stored on a remote server.
stash: contains changes that are temporarily stored somewhere else to move them out of the way.

Basic Git commands¶

The following basic Git commands are used to move changes between these workspaces.

Hint

Shell commands use a Bash-compatible syntax. They should therefore be compatible with the most common shells used for Git:

Windows: Git Bash
WSL: Bash
Linux: Bash or Zsh
macOS: Zsh

You may have to adjust the syntax slightly if you use a different shell, for example PowerShell.

Hint

This book concentrates on the command line and only deals with GUI’s in passing. The command line is the most powerful way to use Git. GUIs implement only a subset of what is possible with Git and the shell. Nevertheless, a hybrid approach is possible and widely used with many GUIs: You can use a GUI for tasks, and the CLI for full performance. You can select a suitable GUI tool in GUI Clients.

git add

adds files from the working directory to the staging area.

git reset HEAD

restores a file in the work area from the stage area.

git stash

moves files from the workspace to a stash.