Git Advanced Workflows

Interactive Rebase

# Clean up last 5 commits before PR
git rebase -i HEAD~5

# In editor:
# pick abc1234 Add user model
# squash def5678 Fix typo in user model
# reword ghi9012 Add authentication
# fixup jkl3456 Fix auth bug
# drop mno7890 Debugging code

# Rebase onto main
git fetch origin
git rebase -i origin/main

# Rebase with autosquash (squash! and fixup! commits)
git commit --fixup HEAD~2  # Creates "fixup! Original commit message"
git rebase -i --autosquash origin/main

Cherry-Picking Strategies

# Cherry-pick a single commit
git cherry-pick abc1234

# Cherry-pick a range
git cherry-pick abc1234..def5678

# Cherry-pick without committing (for inspection)
git cherry-pick --no-commit abc1234

# Cherry-pick and resolve conflicts
git cherry-pick abc1234
# ... resolve conflicts ...
git add .
git cherry-pick --continue

# Cherry-pick preserving original author
git cherry-pick -x abc1234  # Adds "(cherry picked from commit...)" note

Git Bisect for Bug Hunting

# Find the commit that introduced a bug
git bisect start
git bisect bad HEAD           # Current state is broken
git bisect good v2.0.0        # v2.0.0 was working

# Git checks out middle commit - test and mark
git bisect good  # or 'bad'

# Automated bisect with test script
git bisect start HEAD v2.0.0
git bisect run npm test -- --testNamePattern "auth.test"

# Git will find the exact bad commit automatically
# Reset when done
git bisect reset

Stash Advanced Usage

# Stash with description
git stash push -m "WIP: user auth feature"

# Stash specific files
git stash push -p  # Interactive patch mode
git stash push src/auth.ts src/user.ts

# List stashes
git stash list
# stash@{0}: WIP: user auth feature
# stash@{1}: On main: temp fix

# Apply specific stash without dropping
git stash apply stash@{1}

# Pop specific stash
git stash pop stash@{0}

# Create branch from stash
git stash branch feature/auth stash@{0}

# Show stash diff
git stash show -p stash@{0}

Worktrees for Parallel Work

# Work on multiple branches simultaneously
git worktree add ../hotfix-branch hotfix/critical-bug
git worktree add ../feature-branch feature/new-ui

# List worktrees
git worktree list

# Remove worktree when done
git worktree remove ../hotfix-branch

Git Hooks for Quality

#!/bin/bash
# .git/hooks/pre-commit (or use husky)

# Run linting
npm run lint
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
  echo "Lint failed. Commit aborted."
  exit 1
fi

# Run type check
npm run type-check
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
  echo "Type check failed. Commit aborted."
  exit 1
fi

# Run related tests
npm run test -- --findRelatedTests $(git diff --cached --name-only | tr '
' ' ')

// husky + lint-staged setup
// package.json
{
  "lint-staged": {
    "*.{ts,tsx}": ["eslint --fix", "prettier --write"],
    "*.{js,jsx}": ["eslint --fix"],
    "*.css": ["prettier --write"],
    "*.json": ["prettier --write"]
  }
}

Useful Git Aliases

# ~/.gitconfig
[alias]
  lg = log --oneline --graph --decorate --all
  co = checkout
  br = branch
  st = status -sb
  undo = reset HEAD~1 --mixed
  amend = commit --amend --no-edit
  pushf = push --force-with-lease  # Safe force push
  recent = branch --sort=-committerdate
  unstage = reset HEAD --
  aliases = config --get-regexp alias

# One-line history with color
git log --oneline --graph --decorate --all --color=always | head -20

# Find commits touching a function
git log -L :functionName:path/to/file.ts

# Show commits by author
git log --author="John" --since="1 month ago" --oneline

Git Reflog for Recovery

# See all recent HEAD positions
git reflog

# Recover a dropped stash
git reflog stash

# Recover deleted branch
git checkout -b recovered-branch abc1234  # SHA from reflog

# Undo a bad rebase
git reflog  # Find SHA before rebase
git reset --hard HEAD@{5}  # Go back to pre-rebase state

Repository Maintenance

# Garbage collection
git gc --prune=now --aggressive

# Find large files
git rev-list --objects --all | git cat-file --batch-check='%(objecttype) %(objectname) %(objectsize) %(rest)' | sort -k3 -rn | head -20

# Remove large file from history (BFG)
bfg --strip-blobs-bigger-than 1M
git reflog expire --expire=now --all
git gc --prune=now --aggressive