Ever find yourself poking around a Git project wondering “What’s even going on here?” Whether you’re jumping into a new codebase or returning to an old one, Git gives you powerful tools to get oriented quickly.

This short guide will walk you through a handful of essential Git commands that help you understand your repository’s structure, branches, remotes, and commit history.

1. git status

Your starting point. This command tells you:

• What branch you’re on

• If you have any uncommitted changes

• Whether your branch is ahead/behind its remote counterpart

Great for checking the current state of your local repo.

2. git log --oneline

Want a quick summary of recent work? This command shows:

• A compact list of commits on the current branch

• Commit messages and short hashes

Use this to scan recent changes or compare branches at a glance.

3. git branch

Lists all local branches in your repository. Want more insight?

Try:

• git branch -a: Shows both local and remote-tracking branches

• git branch -r: Only shows remote-tracking branches

This helps you discover which branches exist and where they live.

4. git merge-base branch1 branch2

Finds the common ancestor of two branches. Useful for understanding when a branch diverged from another, and how far it’s drifted.

5. git remote -v

Displays the URL of the remote repo (usually called origin) your project is linked to. This is where any pushes and pulls will go.

Why This Matters

These commands help you form a mental model of any Git project—local or remote. They’re especially useful when:

• You’ve inherited a codebase

• You're reviewing a pull request

• You're cleaning up old branches

• Or just trying to get your bearings

Learning Git doesn’t have to mean memorizing obscure flags.

Check out the below video for a visual guide to all the commands above: