Module 5: Advanced Git Features

Module Overview

What You'll Learn

Use tags and releases
Create Git aliases
Work with Git hooks
Advanced workflows

Time Estimate

35-50 minutes

Prerequisites

Module 4: Remote Repositories & Collaboration

Tags and Releases

Creating Tags

Mark important points in your repository history:

git tag v1.0.0

Create a lightweight tag

git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Version 1.0.0 release"

Create an annotated tag with message

Managing Tags

List and manage your tags:

git tag

List all tags

git push origin v1.0.0

Push a specific tag to remote

git push origin --tags

Push all tags to remote

GitHub Releases

Creating a Release:

1. Create and push a tag to GitHub
2. Go to your repository on GitHub
3. Click "Releases" in the right sidebar
4. Click "Create a new release"
5. Select your tag and add release notes
6. Upload any release assets (binaries, etc.)

Git Aliases

Creating Aliases

Create shortcuts for commonly used commands:

git config --global alias.st status

Create alias 'st' for 'status'

git config --global alias.co checkout

Create alias 'co' for 'checkout'

git config --global alias.br branch

Create alias 'br' for 'branch'

Advanced Aliases

Create more complex aliases with multiple commands:

git config --global alias.lg "log --oneline --graph --all"

Create a pretty log alias

git config --global alias.unstage "reset HEAD --"

Create alias to unstage files

Using Aliases

Use your new aliases:

git st

Use 'st' alias for status

git lg

Use 'lg' alias for pretty log

Git Hooks

Understanding Hooks

Git hooks are scripts that run automatically at certain points in Git's workflow:

Common Hook Types:

• pre-commit: Runs before a commit is created
• post-commit: Runs after a commit is created
• pre-push: Runs before pushing to remote
• post-merge: Runs after a merge is completed

Creating a Pre-commit Hook

Create a hook to run tests before committing:

touch .git/hooks/pre-commit

Create the pre-commit hook file

chmod +x .git/hooks/pre-commit

Make the hook executable

Example Pre-commit Hook

A simple hook to check for TODO comments:

#!/bin/sh
# Check for TODO comments in staged files
if git diff --cached --name-only | xargs grep -l "TODO"; then
    echo "Error: TODO comments found in staged files"
    echo "Please remove TODO comments before committing"
    exit 1
fi
exit 0

Advanced Workflows

Git Flow

A branching model for managing releases:

Branch Structure:

• main: Production-ready code
• develop: Integration branch for features
• feature/*: Individual feature branches
• release/*: Release preparation branches
• hotfix/*: Emergency fixes for production

GitHub Flow

A simpler workflow for continuous deployment:

Workflow Steps:

1. Create a branch from main
2. Make changes and commit them
3. Push the branch to GitHub
4. Create a Pull Request
5. Review and discuss changes
6. Merge to main and deploy

Rebase Workflow

Keep your commit history clean with rebasing:

git rebase main

Rebase your branch onto main

git rebase -i HEAD~3

Interactive rebase to squash commits

Cherry-picking

Apply specific commits to different branches:

git cherry-pick abc1234

Apply a specific commit to current branch

Module Quiz

Test your understanding of advanced Git features.