Certainly! Here’s a concise and highly technical reference guide based on our discussion about handling file deletions and commits in Git:

### 1. **Reviewing Changes**
Before making any changes to your Git repository, always check the current status to see untracked or modified files.

```bash
git status
```

### 2. **Staging Changes**
To stage changes, including file deletions or modifications:

- **Stage a specific file:**
  ```bash
  git add <file_path>
  ```

- **Stage a deleted file:**
  ```bash
  git rm <file_path>
  ```

- **Stage recursive deletion for directories:**
  ```bash
  git rm -r <directory_path>
  ```

### 3. **Committing Changes**
After staging the changes, commit them with a clear and descriptive message. The message should concisely explain the what and why of the changes.

```bash
git commit -m "<commit_message>"
```

### 4. **Pushing Changes**
To synchronize your local changes with the remote repository:

```bash
git push origin <branch_name>
```

### 5. **Handling Divergent Branches**
If you encounter a message about divergent branches during a pull, you have several options to reconcile them:

- **Merge (creates a merge commit):**
  ```bash
  git pull --rebase=false
  ```

- **Rebase (reapplies local commits on top of fetched commits):**
  ```bash
  git pull --rebase=true
  ```

- **Fast-forward only (rejects non-fast-forward pulls):**
  ```bash
  git pull --ff-only
  ```

### 6. **Force-Pushing Changes**
To overwrite remote changes with your local branch (use with caution):

```bash
git push origin <branch_name> --force
```

### 7. **Best Practices for Commit Messages**
- Keep the subject line around 50 characters.
- Use the body to explain "what" and "why", not "how".
- Use imperative mood in the subject line.

### 8. **Ignoring Files**
To prevent tracking of unnecessary files like `.DS_Store`, create a `.gitignore` file:

- **Example `.gitignore` content:**
  ```
  .DS_Store
  ```

### 9. **Git Configuration for Handling Pulls**
Set a global preference for how pulls are handled across all repositories:

- **For merging:**
  ```bash
  git config --global pull.rebase false
  ```

- **For rebasing:**
  ```bash
  git config --global pull.rebase true
  ```

- **For fast-forward only:**
  ```bash
  git config --global pull.ff only
  ```

This guide consolidates the key actions and commands in Git related to staging, committing, and pushing changes, along with best practices and configuration tips. Use it as a technical reference to manage your projects effectively in Git.

---

# Git Cheatsheet

## **1. Remote Repository Commands**

- **Clone a repository**:  
  `git clone git@github.com:USER-NAME/REPOSITORY-NAME.git`
- **Push changes to a specific remote branch**:  
  `git push origin BRANCH-NAME`
- **Pull changes from a specific remote branch**:  
  `git pull origin BRANCH-NAME`

## **2. Workflow Commands**

- **Add all changes to the staging area**:  
  `git add .`

- **Commit changes with a message**:  
  `git commit -m "Your descriptive commit message"`

## **3. Checking Status & Log History**

- **Check the current state and changes**:  
  `git status`

- **View the commit history**:  
  `git log`

## **4. Branching**

- **Create and switch to a new branch**:  
  `git checkout -b BRANCH_NAME`

- **Switch to an existing branch**:  
  `git checkout BRANCH_NAME`

- **List all branches**:  
  `git branch`

- **Delete a branch**:  
  `git branch -d BRANCH_NAME`

## **5. Additional Commands**

- **Show changes between the working directory and index**:  
  `git diff`

- **Revert changes from a specified commit**:  
  `git revert COMMIT`

- **Reset the current branch head to a specified commit**:  
  `git reset COMMIT`

- **Temporarily save changes**:  
  `git stash`

## **6. Tips & Best Practices**

- Use branches for development.
- Commit regularly with descriptive messages.
- Use pull requests to merge changes.
- Resolve conflicts promptly.

## **7. Basic Git Syntax (Simplified Model)**

The basic Git syntax is `program | action | destination`.

For example:

- `git add .` is read as `git | add | .`, where the period represents everything in the current directory.
- `git commit -m "message"` is read as `git | commit -m | "message"`.
- `git status` is read as `git | status | (no destination)`.
- `git push origin main` is read as `git | push | origin main`.

---

### Remember: Practice makes you better at Git! Keep this cheatsheet handy.
