Git Repository Initialization and Status
📌 Local repositories are initialized using the `git init` command, which creates a hidden `.git` folder responsible for tracking and logging.
🔎 The `git status` command reveals the current state of the repository, showing untracked, staged, or modified files.
➕ Files must be staged using `git add ` before Git can track changes or prepare them for commitment.

Versioning and Committing
✍️ `git commit -m "message"` saves the staged changes into the repository history with a descriptive message for auditing.
📜 The `git log` command displays the history of commits, showing the author and message, essential for tracking team contributions and reverting changes.
↩️ If changes are made accidentally, `git checkout ` can revert the file back to its last committed state.

Remote Operations and Cloning
📤 Pushing local changes to a remote repository (like GitHub) requires the `git push` command, which relies on a configured remote reference.
⬇️ Code is pulled from a remote repository using `git clone ` (for new local copies) or by fetching/pulling existing ones.
🔑 Cloning can use HTTPS (requiring a password) or SSH (requiring public/private key authentication, configured by pasting the public key to the remote host settings).

Git Fork vs. Clone
🍴 Forking creates a complete, independent copy (a replica) of a remote repository under the user's own account, enabling decentralized collaboration.
🔗 Cloning downloads a specific version of a repository to the local machine for immediate work, referencing the original remote.

Branching and Merging Workflows
🌱 Branches isolate development efforts; `git checkout -b ` creates a new branch based on the current state of the main branch.
↔️ `git checkout ` switches the working environment between different branches.
🔄 To integrate changes, developers use `git merge`, `git rebase`, or `git cherry-pick`.

Merging Strategies: Merge vs. Rebase vs. Cherry-Pick
🍒 `git cherry-pick ` applies a specific commit from another branch onto the current branch, suitable for one or two isolated changes.
➕ `git merge ` integrates changes, resulting in a non-linear history (a merge commit is created).
🌳 `git rebase ` rewrites history by moving all commits from the feature branch to the tip of the target branch, resulting in a clean, linear commit history.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ The fundamental Git workflow involves `git add`, `git commit`, and `git push` for tracking and sharing work across teams.
➡️ If `git push` fails, the likely cause is the absence of a configured remote reference, fixed by using `git remote add `.
➡️ Rebase is preferred over merge in large projects when a linear commit history is required for easier change tracking and debugging.
➡️ Merge conflicts occur when multiple branches modify the same lines in the same file; resolution requires collaboration to decide which changes to keep.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Nov 09, 2025, 07:01 UTC