Git Advanced Workflows

1---2name: git-advanced-workflows3description: Master advanced Git workflows including rebasing, cherry-picking, bisect, worktrees, and reflog to maintain clean history and recover from any situation. Use when managing complex Git histories, collaborating on feature branches, or troubleshooting repository issues.4---5 6# Git Advanced Workflows7 8Master advanced Git techniques to maintain clean history, collaborate effectively, and recover from any situation with confidence.9 10## When to Use This Skill11 12- Cleaning up commit history before merging13- Applying specific commits across branches14- Finding commits that introduced bugs15- Working on multiple features simultaneously16- Recovering from Git mistakes or lost commits17- Managing complex branch workflows18- Preparing clean PRs for review19- Synchronizing diverged branches20 21## Core Concepts22 23### 1. Interactive Rebase24 25Interactive rebase is the Swiss Army knife of Git history editing.26 27**Common Operations:**28 29- `pick`: Keep commit as-is30- `reword`: Change commit message31- `edit`: Amend commit content32- `squash`: Combine with previous commit33- `fixup`: Like squash but discard message34- `drop`: Remove commit entirely35 36**Basic Usage:**37 38```bash39# Rebase last 5 commits40git rebase -i HEAD~541 42# Rebase all commits on current branch43git rebase -i $(git merge-base HEAD main)44 45# Rebase onto specific commit46git rebase -i abc12347```48 49### 2. Cherry-Picking50 51Apply specific commits from one branch to another without merging entire branches.52 53```bash54# Cherry-pick single commit55git cherry-pick abc12356 57# Cherry-pick range of commits (exclusive start)58git cherry-pick abc123..def45659 60# Cherry-pick without committing (stage changes only)61git cherry-pick -n abc12362 63# Cherry-pick and edit commit message64git cherry-pick -e abc12365```66 67### 3. Git Bisect68 69Binary search through commit history to find the commit that introduced a bug.70 71```bash72# Start bisect73git bisect start74 75# Mark current commit as bad76git bisect bad77 78# Mark known good commit79git bisect good v1.0.080 81# Git will checkout middle commit - test it82# Then mark as good or bad83git bisect good  # or: git bisect bad84 85# Continue until bug found86# When done87git bisect reset88```89 90**Automated Bisect:**91 92```bash93# Use script to test automatically94git bisect start HEAD v1.0.095git bisect run ./test.sh96 97# test.sh should exit 0 for good, 1-127 (except 125) for bad98```99 100### 4. Worktrees101 102Work on multiple branches simultaneously without stashing or switching.103 104```bash105# List existing worktrees106git worktree list107 108# Add new worktree for feature branch109git worktree add ../project-feature feature/new-feature110 111# Add worktree and create new branch112git worktree add -b bugfix/urgent ../project-hotfix main113 114# Remove worktree115git worktree remove ../project-feature116 117# Prune stale worktrees118git worktree prune119```120 121### 5. Reflog122 123Your safety net - tracks all ref movements, even deleted commits.124 125```bash126# View reflog127git reflog128 129# View reflog for specific branch130git reflog show feature/branch131 132# Restore deleted commit133git reflog134# Find commit hash135git checkout abc123136git branch recovered-branch137 138# Restore deleted branch139git reflog140git branch deleted-branch abc123141```142 143## Practical Workflows144 145### Workflow 1: Clean Up Feature Branch Before PR146 147```bash148# Start with feature branch149git checkout feature/user-auth150 151# Interactive rebase to clean history152git rebase -i main153 154# Example rebase operations:155# - Squash "fix typo" commits156# - Reword commit messages for clarity157# - Reorder commits logically158# - Drop unnecessary commits159 160# Force push cleaned branch (safe if no one else is using it)161git push --force-with-lease origin feature/user-auth162```163 164### Workflow 2: Apply Hotfix to Multiple Releases165 166```bash167# Create fix on main168git checkout main169git commit -m "fix: critical security patch"170 171# Apply to release branches172git checkout release/2.0173git cherry-pick abc123174 175git checkout release/1.9176git cherry-pick abc123177 178# Handle conflicts if they arise179git cherry-pick --continue180# or181git cherry-pick --abort182```183 184### Workflow 3: Find Bug Introduction185 186```bash187# Start bisect188git bisect start189git bisect bad HEAD190git bisect good v2.1.0191 192# Git checks out middle commit - run tests193npm test194 195# If tests fail196git bisect bad197 198# If tests pass199git bisect good200 201# Git will automatically checkout next commit to test202# Repeat until bug found203 204# Automated version205git bisect start HEAD v2.1.0206git bisect run npm test207```208 209### Workflow 4: Multi-Branch Development210 211```bash212# Main project directory213cd ~/projects/myapp214 215# Create worktree for urgent bugfix216git worktree add ../myapp-hotfix hotfix/critical-bug217 218# Work on hotfix in separate directory219cd ../myapp-hotfix220# Make changes, commit221git commit -m "fix: resolve critical bug"222git push origin hotfix/critical-bug223 224# Return to main work without interruption225cd ~/projects/myapp226git fetch origin227git cherry-pick hotfix/critical-bug228 229# Clean up when done230git worktree remove ../myapp-hotfix231```232 233### Workflow 5: Recover from Mistakes234 235```bash236# Accidentally reset to wrong commit237git reset --hard HEAD~5  # Oh no!238 239# Use reflog to find lost commits240git reflog241# Output shows:242# abc123 HEAD@{0}: reset: moving to HEAD~5243# def456 HEAD@{1}: commit: my important changes244 245# Recover lost commits246git reset --hard def456247 248# Or create branch from lost commit249git branch recovery def456250```251 252## Advanced Techniques253 254### Rebase vs Merge Strategy255 256**When to Rebase:**257 258- Cleaning up local commits before pushing259- Keeping feature branch up-to-date with main260- Creating linear history for easier review261 262**When to Merge:**263 264- Integrating completed features into main265- Preserving exact history of collaboration266- Public branches used by others267 268```bash269# Update feature branch with main changes (rebase)270git checkout feature/my-feature271git fetch origin272git rebase origin/main273 274# Handle conflicts275git status276# Fix conflicts in files277git add .278git rebase --continue279 280# Or merge instead281git merge origin/main282```283 284### Autosquash Workflow285 286Automatically squash fixup commits during rebase.287 288```bash289# Make initial commit290git commit -m "feat: add user authentication"291 292# Later, fix something in that commit293# Stage changes294git commit --fixup HEAD  # or specify commit hash295 296# Make more changes297git commit --fixup abc123298 299# Rebase with autosquash300git rebase -i --autosquash main301 302# Git automatically marks fixup commits303```304 305### Split Commit306 307Break one commit into multiple logical commits.308 309```bash310# Start interactive rebase311git rebase -i HEAD~3312 313# Mark commit to split with 'edit'314# Git will stop at that commit315 316# Reset commit but keep changes317git reset HEAD^318 319# Stage and commit in logical chunks320git add file1.py321git commit -m "feat: add validation"322 323git add file2.py324git commit -m "feat: add error handling"325 326# Continue rebase327git rebase --continue328```329 330### Partial Cherry-Pick331 332Cherry-pick only specific files from a commit.333 334```bash335# Show files in commit336git show --name-only abc123337 338# Checkout specific files from commit339git checkout abc123 -- path/to/file1.py path/to/file2.py340 341# Stage and commit342git commit -m "cherry-pick: apply specific changes from abc123"343```344 345## Best Practices346 3471. **Always Use --force-with-lease**: Safer than --force, prevents overwriting others' work3482. **Rebase Only Local Commits**: Don't rebase commits that have been pushed and shared3493. **Descriptive Commit Messages**: Future you will thank present you3504. **Atomic Commits**: Each commit should be a single logical change3515. **Test Before Force Push**: Ensure history rewrite didn't break anything3526. **Keep Reflog Aware**: Remember reflog is your safety net for 90 days3537. **Branch Before Risky Operations**: Create backup branch before complex rebases354 355```bash356# Safe force push357git push --force-with-lease origin feature/branch358 359# Create backup before risky operation360git branch backup-branch361git rebase -i main362# If something goes wrong363git reset --hard backup-branch364```365 366## Common Pitfalls367 368- **Rebasing Public Branches**: Causes history conflicts for collaborators369- **Force Pushing Without Lease**: Can overwrite teammate's work370- **Losing Work in Rebase**: Resolve conflicts carefully, test after rebase371- **Forgetting Worktree Cleanup**: Orphaned worktrees consume disk space372- **Not Backing Up Before Experiment**: Always create safety branch373- **Bisect on Dirty Working Directory**: Commit or stash before bisecting374 375## Recovery Commands376 377```bash378# Abort operations in progress379git rebase --abort380git merge --abort381git cherry-pick --abort382git bisect reset383 384# Restore file to version from specific commit385git restore --source=abc123 path/to/file386 387# Undo last commit but keep changes388git reset --soft HEAD^389 390# Undo last commit and discard changes391git reset --hard HEAD^392 393# Recover deleted branch (within 90 days)394git reflog395git branch recovered-branch abc123396```