In Git, committing is the process of saving changes in your local repository. A commit represents a snapshot of the changes you've made to the project. Each commit has a unique identifier (a hash), and it includes information about what changes were made and why (the commit message).

Here’s how you can commit changes in Git:

1. Check the Status of Your Repository

Before making a commit, it’s good practice to check the status of your working directory and staging area. You can do this with the following command:

git status

This will show you:

• Files that have been modified but not staged.
• Files that are staged and ready to commit.
• New, untracked files.

2. Stage Your Changes

Before you commit, you need to "stage" the changes you want to include in the commit. Staging means you’re preparing the changes to be committed.

To stage files, you use the git add command:

• Stage a specific file:

  git add <file-name>
  

• Stage all changes (modified and new files):

  git add .
  

  Note: The . means "all modified and untracked files in the current directory and its subdirectories."

• Stage specific changes in a file: If you want to add only specific parts of a file, you can use the -p flag:

  git add -p <file-name>
  

  This will allow you to selectively stage changes, file by file, hunk by hunk.

3. Commit the Staged Changes

After staging your changes, you’re ready to commit them. Use the git commit command:

git commit -m "Your commit message"

• The -m option allows you to specify a commit message directly on the command line. The commit message should be a brief and clear description of the changes.

For example:

git commit -m "Fix bug in login form validation"

The commit message is essential because it helps others (and your future self) understand what was changed and why.

4. View Your Commit History

After committing, you can see the history of your commits using:

git log

This shows a list of commits in reverse chronological order. Each commit will have:

• A unique hash (ID).
• The author’s name and email.
• The commit date and time.
• The commit message.

For a shorter version, you can use:

git log --oneline

This displays each commit as a single line, showing the commit hash and message.

5. Undoing a Commit

• Uncommit (soft reset): If you want to undo the most recent commit, but keep the changes staged (so you can modify them and commit again), use:

  git reset --soft HEAD~1
  

• Uncommit and unstage (mixed reset): If you want to undo the most recent commit and unstage the changes, but keep them in your working directory:

  git reset HEAD~1
  

• Completely undo a commit (hard reset): If you want to undo the most recent commit and discard all changes, use:

  git reset --hard HEAD~1
  

6. Amending the Last Commit

If you made a mistake in your last commit (for example, you forgot to add a file or made a typo in the commit message), you can amend the commit:

• Amend the last commit message:

  git commit --amend -m "Correct commit message"
  

• Amend the commit with new changes: If you forgot to add a file to your last commit, first stage the changes:

  git add <file-name>
  

  Then amend the commit:

  git commit --amend --no-edit
  

  The --no-edit flag will keep the original commit message and only update the commit with your staged changes.

7. Committing to a Remote Repository

Once you've committed changes locally, you can push them to a remote repository (e.g., GitHub):

git push origin <branch-name>

For example, if you’re working on the main branch:

git push origin main

If you're pushing for the first time, you may need to set the upstream branch:

git push --set-upstream origin main

Example Workflow:

1. Check the status of your working directory:

   git status
   

2. Stage your changes:

   git add .
   

3. Commit the changes:

   git commit -m "Add new feature to the homepage"
   

4. Push your commit to the remote repository:

   git push origin main
   

Best Practices for Commit Messages:

• Keep messages concise but informative (around 50-72 characters for the title line).
• Use the imperative mood: e.g., "Fix bug," not "Fixed bug."
• If the commit message is long, add a detailed description in the body, separated from the title line by a blank line.

Example Commit Message:

Add search functionality to the homepageThis commit introduces a search bar to the homepage, allowing users tosearch for products by name. The search feature includes an autocompletedropdown that suggests product names as the user types.