Git command reference

How do I?

Git command-line

Visual Studio

Create a repo in a new folder

git init foldername

Select the Connect button ( ) in Team Explorer to open the Connect view, then select New under Local Git repositories

Create a repo with code in an existing folder

git init foldername
git add --all
git commit -m "Initial commit"

Create the repo from the command line, then open Team Explorer's Connect view and select Add under Local Git repositories

Create a repo from an existing Visual Studio solution

git init foldername
cd foldername
git add --all
git commit -m "Initial commit"

Open the solution and select Publish ( ) from the status bar in the lower right.

Create a new repo in your Project

Not applicable

From the web, select Repos (or Code if you haven't enabled the new navigation preview), then select the drop-down next to the current repo name and choose New Repository...

Clone a repo into a local folder

git clone URL foldername

Select Clone under Local Git repositories in Team Explorer's Connect view

Clone a repo in your Project

git clone URL foldername

Open the Connect view in Team Explorer and right-click the Git repo in your Project under the account name. Select Clone...

Add an existing repo to Visual Studio

Not applicable

Open the solution file in Visual Studio (this will automatically add the repo to Team Explorer) or select Add under Local Git repositories in the Connect view

Delete the Git repo and history, but keep the current version of the files

Delete the hidden .git folder created at the root of the repo

Delete the hidden .git folder created at the root of the repo from Windows Explorer or the command line

Delete a local repo and all files

Delete the folder containing your repo from your computer's filesystem

Close any open solutions using files in the repo, then delete the folder containing your repo from your computer's filesystem.

Delete a repo in your Project

Not applicable

Not applicable, instead see Delete an existing repo

Add a remote

git remote add name url

Open the repository using the Connect view in Team Explorer, then open the Settings view in Team Explorer. Select Repository Settings, and select Add under Remotes

Update a remote

git remote set-url name url

Open the repository using the Connect view in Team Explorer, then open the Settings view in Team Explorer. Select Repository Settings, and select Edit under Remotes

How do I?

Git command-line

Visual Studio

Create a new branch

git branch branchname

Open the Branches view in Team Explorer, then right-click a branch and choose New Local Branch From...

Swap to a different branch

git checkout branchname

Open the Branches view in Team Explorer, then double click a local branch. Alternatively, click the current branch name from the status bar and select a different branch.

Create and switch to a new branch

git checkout -b branchname

Open the Branches view in Team Explorer, then right-click a branch and choose New Local Branch From...

Delete a local branch

git branch -d branchname

Open the Branches view in Team Explorer, then right-click the branch and select Delete. You must be checked out to a different branch than the one you want to delete.

Delete a remote branch

git push origin --delete branchname

Open the Branches view in Team Explorer, expand the remote that has the branch you want to delete. Right-click the remote and select Delete Branch from Remote

Lock a branch, preventing updates to it

Not applicable.

From the web, select the Branches tab while viewing your repo. Select the ... next to the branch you want to lock and choose Lock. Unlock the branch with Unlock.

Set a default branch in your Azure DevOps repo

Not applicable.

Select the settings icon on the web ( ), then select the Version Control tab. Select your Git repository, then select the ... next to the branch name and choose Set as default branch.

Set a compare branch for pull requests in Azure DevOps repo

Not applicable.

From the web, select the Branches tab while viewing your repo. Select the ... next to the branch you want to lock and choose Compare branch.

How do I?

Git command-line

Visual Studio

Create a new commit

git commit -m "message"

Open the Changes view in Team Explorer. Stage changes by right-clicking on the modified files and selecting Stage. Enter a commit message and select Commit Staged.

Amend the last commit with staged changes

git commit --amend -m "Updated message"

Open the Changes view in Team Explorer, stage your changes, then select Amend Previous Commit from the Actions drop-down.

Stage all file changes

git add --all

Open the Changes view in Team Explorer. Select the + icon in the Changes list to stage all changes for the next commit.

Stage a specific file change

git add filename

Open the Changes view in Team Explorer. Stage changes by right-clicking on the changed file and selecting Stage.

Review unstaged changes

git status --untracked

Open the Changes view in Team Explorer. Unstaged changes are listed under Changes section.

Delete a file

git rm filename
git commit -m "filename"

Delete the file through Solution Explorer, the command line, or any other means. Right-click the deleted file in Team Explorer's Changes view and select Stage. Select Commit Staged to commit the deletion.

Move a file

git mv filename
git commit -m "Moved filename"

Move a file from one location to another in your repo through Solution Explorer, the command line, or any other means. Right-click the moved file in Team Explorer's Changes view and select Stage . Select Commit Staged to commit the move.

Tag a commit

git tag -a tagname -m "description"

Open the Changes view in Team Explorer, then choose View history..." from the Action drop-down. Locate the commit in the History view, then right-click and select Create Tag

How do I?

Git command-line

Visual Studio

Compare the current contents of a single file and the contents in the last commit

git diff HEAD filename

Right-click the change in the Changes view in Team Explorer and select Compare with unmodified.

Compare your current version with a branch

git diff branchname

Right-click a file in Solution Explorer and select View History..., then select both on the latest commit on your current branch and the latest commit on the remote branch. Right-click and select Compare

Compare changes between two branches

git diff branchname1 branchname2

Right-click a file in Solution Explorer and select View History..., then select the most recent commits for both branches. Right-click and select Compare

How do I?

Git command-line

Visual Studio

Download new branches and commits from a remote repo, but do not merge them into your local branches

git fetch

Open the Sync view from Team Explorer and select Fetch.

Merge updates from a remote repo into your local repo

git pull remote branchname

While working on the branch in your local repo, open the Sync view in Team Explorer, then select Pull.

Publish a local branch to a remote repo

git push -u remote branchname

Open the Sync view in Team Explorer and select Publish under Outgoing Commits.

Synchronize your local branch with a remote branch, pushing your local changes and pulling remote ones

git pull remote branchname
git push -u remote branchname

Open the Sync view in Team Explorer. Select Sync.

Force push a branch, rewriting the remote branch history with the history of your current branch

git push --force -u origin remote_branchname

Use command line

How do I?

Git command-line

Visual Studio

Merge a branch into the current branch

git merge branchname

In the Team Explorer Branches view, right-click the branch you want to merge and select Merge From... Verify the options set and select Merge.

Merge a remote branch into the current branch

git pull origin branchname

In the Team Explorer Branches view, right-click the remote branch you want to merge and select Merge From... Verify the options set and select Merge.

Rebase your current branch onto the history of another branch

git rebase branchname

In the Team Explorer Branches view, right-click the branch you want to rebase your current branch changes onto and select Rebase Onto...

Do an interactive rebase of the last n commits

git rebase -i HEAD~n (Linux and macOS)
git rebase -i "HEAD^n" (Windows)

Not applicable

Cherry-pick a commit into the current branch

git cherry-pick commitID

Open the Changes view in Team Explorer, then choose View history... from the Action drop-down. Locate the commit in the History view, then right-click and select Cherry-pick

How do I?

Git command-line

Visual Studio

Revert all changes and roll back to the most recent commit

git reset --hard HEAD

Open the Changes view in Team Explorer. Select **Actions and choose View History from the drop-down. Right-click the commit where the branch is currently located and select Reset and Delete changes....

Revert staging of files, but keep file changes

git reset --mixed HEAD

Open the Changes view in Team Explorer. Select **Actions and choose View History from the drop-down. Right-click the commit where the branch is currently located and select Reset and Keep changes....

Delete untracked files

git clean -f

In the Changes view in Team Explorer, right-click the files to remove under Changes marked with [add] and select Delete.

Reset your local branch to the most recent commit on a remote branch

git reset --hard remote/branchname
(for example, git reset --hard origin/main)

Right-click the branch from Team Explorer's Branches view and select Reset and Delete changes....

Revert a commit pushed to a remote repository

git revert commitID

Open the Changes view in Team Explorer. Select **Actions and choose View History from the drop-down. Right-click the commit to revert and select Revert.