Git Commands Interview Questions and Questions (Level-1)

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1. What are some basic Git commands and their purposes?

Answer:

Git provides core commands to manage source code and collaborate on development projects. Here are the most important ones:

• git init: Initializes a new Git repository in your current folder.
  
  • Creates a .git directory.
    
  • Starts version control for your project.
    
• git clone <repo_url>: Clones a remote repository to your local system.
  
  • Useful when starting work on an existing repository.
    
  • Brings full version history.
    
• git status: Shows the current state of the working directory.
  
  • Highlights modified, staged, and untracked files.
    
• git add <filename>: Stages changes for commit.
  
  • Use git add . to stage all modified files.
    
  • Prepares files to be saved in version history.
    
• git commit -m “message”: Saves staged changes with a commit message.
  
  • A checkpoint in the development process.
    
• git push: Uploads local commits to a remote repository.
  
  • Use git push origin <branch> to push a specific branch.
    
• git pull: Fetches and merges remote changes into your local branch.
  
• git fetch: Only downloads changes from the remote (no merge).
  
• git merge <branch>: Combines another branch into the current branch.
  
• git log: Displays the commit history.
  
• git diff: Shows changes not yet staged or committed.
  

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2. What are Git branching commands and how are they used?

Answer:

Branching allows developers to work in parallel without affecting the main code.

• git branch: Lists all branches in the repository.
  
• git branch <name>: Creates a new branch.
  
• git checkout <branch>: Switches to an existing branch.
  
• git checkout -b <branch>: Creates and switches to a new branch.
  
• git merge <branch>: Merges another branch into the current one.
  
• git rebase <branch>: Reapplies commits on top of another base tip.
  
• git branch -d <branch>: Deletes a branch (safe delete).
  
• git branch -D <branch>: Force deletes a branch.
  
• git remote set-head origin <branch>: Sets the default branch for the remote.
  

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3. How do you manage remote repositories in Git?

Answer:

Remotes connect your local project with cloud-hosted repositories like GitHub or GitLab.

• git remote -v: View remote repository URLs.
  
• git remote add origin <url>: Add a remote repository.
  
• git remote remove origin: Remove a remote.
  
• git push origin <branch>: Push changes to a remote branch.
  
• git push -u origin <branch>: Push and set upstream tracking.
  
• git pull origin <branch>: Pull changes from a specific remote branch.
  
• git fetch origin: Fetch changes without merging.
  
• git remote show origin: Shows detailed info about the remote.
  

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4. How do you stage and commit changes in Git?

Answer:

This process captures changes in your working directory and saves them in version history.

• git add .: Stages all changes.
  
• git add -A: Stages all including deletions.
  
• git reset <file>: Unstages a file.
  
• git commit –amend: Modify the previous commit.
  
• git commit -a or –all: Stages and commits all modified files.
  
• git commit –no-verify: Skips hooks during commit.
  
• git reset –soft HEAD~1: Undo the last commit but keep changes staged.
  
• git reset –hard HEAD~1: Undo last commit and discard all changes.
  

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5. How can you view and compare changes in Git?

Answer:

Inspect changes using diff and log commands:

• git diff: Shows unstaged changes.
  
• git diff –staged: Shows staged vs last commit.
  
• git diff <commit_id>: Compares working directory with a specific commit.
  
• git log: Full commit history.
  
  • –oneline: Condensed view.
    
  • –graph: Tree-like view.
    
  • –author=”name”: Filter by author.
    
  • –since=”1 week ago”: Filter by time.
    
• git blame <file>: Shows who changed each line.
  
• git show <commit_id>: Shows details of a specific commit.
  
• git show <commit>:<file>: View file content at a specific commit.
  

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6. How do you undo changes in Git (reset, revert)?

Answer:

Undo actions depending on whether changes are committed, staged, or just in the working directory.

• git reset <commit>: Moves HEAD to a previous commit.
  
  • –soft: Keep changes staged.
    
  • –mixed: Keep changes in working directory.
    
  • –hard: Discards all changes.
    
• git revert <commit>: Creates a new commit that reverses a past commit.
  
• git restore <file>: Restores file from index.
  
• git restore –staged <file>: Removes file from staging area.
  
• git clean -f: Deletes untracked files.
  
• git clean -fd: Deletes untracked files and folders.
  

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7. What is Git stash and how is it used?

Answer:

Stashing is used to temporarily save your changes without committing.

• git stash: Stashes changes.
  
• git stash list: Shows stash history.
  
• git stash pop: Applies and removes latest stash.
  
• git stash apply: Applies stash without removing it.
  
• git stash drop: Deletes a specific stash.
  
• git stash clear: Deletes all stashes.
  
• git stash save “msg”: Adds a message to stash.
  
• git stash branch <name>: Creates a new branch from stash.
  

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8. How do you work with Git tags?

Answer:

Tags mark specific points in history, often used for version releases.

• git tag: Lists all tags.
  
• git tag <name>: Create a lightweight tag.
  
• git tag -a <name> -m “msg”: Annotated tag with metadata.
  
• git tag -d <name>: Delete local tag.
  
• git push origin <tag>: Push a specific tag.
  
• git push origin –tags: Push all tags.
  
• git fetch –tags: Fetch all remote tags.
  

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9. How do you configure Git?

Answer:

Git can be configured globally or per repository.

• git config –global user.name “Your Name”
  
• git config –global user.email “you@example.com”
  
• git config –list: Shows current config.
  
• git config <key> <value>: Set a specific config.
  
• git config –global core.editor “code”: Change default editor.
  
• git config –global color.ui true: Enable color output.
  
• git config –global alias.st status: Create shortcut command (alias).
  

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10. What are Git aliases and how are they useful?

Answer:

Aliases simplify long commands.

Example:

bash
git config –global alias.co checkout

• Now git co = git checkout.
  

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11. What are Git hooks and why are they used?

Answer:

Git hooks are scripts that run automatically during Git events.

• Stored in .git/hooks/
  
• pre-commit: Run before commit (e.g., linting).
  
• commit-msg: Validate commit messages.
  
• post-commit: Actions after commit.
  

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12. What are Git submodules?

Answer:

Submodules help include other Git repositories inside your own.

• git submodule add <repo>: Add a new submodule.
  
• git submodule init: Initialize submodules.
  
• git submodule update: Get latest defined commit.
  
• git submodule status: See current commit for submodule.
  
• git submodule deinit: Remove a submodule.
  
• git submodule update –remote: Pull latest from submodule.
  
• git submodule foreach: Run a command in all submodules.
  

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13. What are Git workflow commands for collaboration?

Answer:

These are useful in team environments to manage changes:

• git pull –rebase: Apply local commits on top of fetched changes.
  
• git rebase -i <commit>: Interactive rebase to squash, edit commits.
  
• git rebase –continue: Continue after fixing conflicts.
  
• git rebase –abort: Abort the rebase.
  
• git merge –no-ff: Force a merge commit even if fast-forward is possible.
  
• git pull –no-commit: Pull changes without auto-committing.
  
• git push –force-with-lease: Force push with safety checks.
  
• git push –force: Force push (dangerous if not used carefully).
  
• git cherry-pick <commit>: Apply a specific commit from another branch.
  

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