Git Basics Practice

Practise everyday Git: commits, the staging area, history, diffs, .gitignore, undoing changes, branches, merging and conflicts. Every solution has been run with Git and shows its real output.

Beginner12 problemsUpdated November 5, 2026

Review first: Your First Repository and Commit, The Staging Area, Viewing History with git log, Seeing Changes with git diff, Ignoring Files with .gitignore, Undoing Changes, Branches, Merging Branches, Resolving Merge Conflicts, Saving Work with git stash

1.Make two commits
Beginner
Create todo.txt containing Learn Git, and commit it with the message Add todo. Add a second line, Practise daily, commit that with the message Add habit, and print the history in one-line format, showing only the messages.
Starter code (Terminal)
git init -q demo cd demo
Show hint
--format=%s prints only the subject of each commit.
Show solution
Terminal
echo "Learn Git" > todo.txt git add todo.txt git commit -q -m "Add todo" echo "Practise daily" >> todo.txt git commit -q -am "Add habit" git log --format=%s
Output
Add habit Add todo
2.Commit only one file
Beginner
Both a.txt and b.txt have been changed. Commit only a.txt with the message Update a, then print the short status.
Starter code (Terminal)
git init -q demo cd demo echo "1" > a.txt echo "1" > b.txt git add . git commit -q -m "Start" echo "2" >> a.txt echo "2" >> b.txt
Show hint
git add a.txt stages one file. The other stays modified.
Show solution
Terminal
git add a.txt git commit -q -m "Update a" git status --short
Output
M b.txt
3.Unstage a file
Beginner
You ran git add . by mistake, and secret.txt is now staged. Unstage it without deleting it, ignore it with .gitignore, and print the short status.
Starter code (Terminal)
git init -q demo cd demo echo "code" > app.txt git add . git commit -q -m "Start" echo "password" > secret.txt git add .
Show hint
git restore --staged removes a file from the staging area.
Show solution
Terminal
git restore --staged secret.txt echo "secret.txt" > .gitignore git status --short
Output
?? .gitignore
4.Count commits and read an old file
Beginner
Print the number of commits on the current branch, then print a.txt as it was in the first commit.
Starter code (Terminal)
git init -q demo cd demo echo "one" > a.txt git add . git commit -q -m "First" echo "two" >> a.txt git commit -q -am "Second" echo "three" >> a.txt git commit -q -am "Third"
Show hint
git rev-list --count HEAD counts commits. git show <commit>:<file> prints an old version. HEAD~2 is two commits back.
Show solution
Terminal
git rev-list --count HEAD git show HEAD~2:a.txt
Output
3 one

5.Check what will be committed

Beginner

Add the line four to a.txt and stage it. Print the staged changes as a summary, then print only the names of the staged files.

Starter code

git init -q demo
cd demo
echo "one" > a.txt
git add .
git commit -q -m "First"
echo "two" >> a.txt
git commit -q -am "Second"
echo "three" >> a.txt
git commit -q -am "Third"

Show hint

git diff --staged with --stat or --name-only.

Show solution

Terminal

echo "four" >> a.txt
git add a.txt
git diff --staged --stat
git diff --staged --name-only

Output

 a.txt | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
a.txt

6.Throw away an edit

Beginner

Someone has broken a.txt. Put it back to its last committed version and print it.

Starter code

git init -q demo
cd demo
echo "one" > a.txt
git add .
git commit -q -m "First"
echo "two" >> a.txt
git commit -q -am "Second"
echo "three" >> a.txt
git commit -q -am "Third"
echo "broken" > a.txt

Show hint

git restore <file>.

Show solution

Terminal

git restore a.txt
cat a.txt

Output

one
two
three

7.Fix the last commit message

Beginner

The last commit has a typo. Change its message to Third line and print the last two messages.

Starter code

git init -q demo
cd demo
echo "one" > a.txt
git add .
git commit -q -m "First"
echo "two" >> a.txt
git commit -q -am "Second"
echo "three" >> a.txt
git commit -q -am "Third"

Show hint

git commit --amend -m.

Show solution

Terminal

git commit -q --amend -m "Third line"
git log --format=%s -n 2

Output

Third line
Second

8.Undo a commit safely

Intermediate

The latest commit, Third, was a mistake, but this branch is shared, so history must not be rewritten. Undo it with a new commit, then print a.txt and the last two messages.

Starter code

git init -q demo
cd demo
echo "one" > a.txt
git add .
git commit -q -m "First"
echo "two" >> a.txt
git commit -q -am "Second"
echo "three" >> a.txt
git commit -q -am "Third"

Show hint

git revert --no-edit HEAD creates a new commit.

Show solution

Terminal

git revert --no-edit HEAD > /dev/null
cat a.txt
git log --format=%s -n 2

Output

one
two
Revert "Third"
Third

9.Branch and merge

Beginner

Create a branch docs, add and commit README.md, go back to main, merge docs, delete the branch and print the branches.

Starter code

git init -q demo
cd demo
echo "start" > a.txt
git add .
git commit -q -m "Start"

Show hint

git switch -c docs. This merge is a fast-forward.

Show solution

Terminal

git switch -q -c docs
echo "# Demo" > README.md
git add README.md
git commit -q -m "Add README"
git switch -q main
git merge -q docs
git branch -q -d docs
git branch
ls

Output

* main
README.md
a.txt

10.Merge branches that have moved apart

Intermediate

main and feature each have a new commit. Merge feature into main, then print the graph without commit IDs.

Starter code

git init -q demo
cd demo
echo "start" > a.txt
git add .
git commit -q -m "Start"
git switch -q -c feature
echo "work" > f.txt
git add .
git commit -q -m "Add feature"
git switch -q main
echo "more" > m.txt
git add .
git commit -q -m "Add more"

Show hint

--format=%s with --graph hides the IDs.

Show solution

Terminal

git merge -q --no-edit feature
git log --graph --format=%s

Output

*   Merge branch 'feature'
|\  
| * Add feature
* | Add more
|/  
* Start

11.Resolve a conflict

Intermediate

main and green both changed theme.txt. Merge green, keep Colour: green, finish the merge, and print the file and the last commit message.

Starter code

git init -q demo
cd demo
echo "Colour: blue" > theme.txt
git add .
git commit -q -m "Add theme"
git switch -q -c green
echo "Colour: green" > theme.txt
git commit -q -am "Use green"
git switch -q main
echo "Colour: red" > theme.txt
git commit -q -am "Use red"

Show hint

Overwrite the file with the version you want, then git add and git commit --no-edit.

Show solution

Terminal

git merge green > /dev/null
echo "Colour: green" > theme.txt
git add theme.txt
git commit -q --no-edit
cat theme.txt
git log --format=%s -n 1

Output

Colour: green
Merge branch 'green'

12.Stash and come back

Beginner

You have an unfinished edit in a.txt. Stash it, confirm that the status is clean by printing git status --short and the word clean, then bring the edit back and print the short status again.

Starter code

git init -q demo
cd demo
echo "one" > a.txt
git add .
git commit -q -m "First"
echo "two" >> a.txt
git commit -q -am "Second"
echo "three" >> a.txt
git commit -q -am "Third"
echo "draft" >> a.txt

Show hint

git stash and git stash pop. Use -q to keep the output short.

Show solution

Terminal

git stash -q
git status --short
echo clean
git stash pop -q
git status --short

Output

clean
 M a.txt

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