Git Aliases: Type Less, Move Faster

Git Aliases: Type Less, Move Faster

If you repeat the same git commands every day, aliases turn them into muscle memory.

Aliases live in your ~/.gitconfig (or can be set globally via --global).

Quick setup

git config --global alias.co "checkout"
git config --global alias.br "branch"
git config --global alias.st "status"
git config --global alias.lg "log --oneline --graph --all --decorate"
git config --global alias.amend "commit --amend --no-edit"

The ones you’ll feel immediately

• git co main → checkout
• git st → status
• git lg → beautiful history graph
• git amend → amend last commit without editor

Extra: aliases for “power” operations

Example (careful—this deletes merged local branches):

git config --global alias.cleanup "!git branch --merged main | grep -v \"main\" | xargs git branch -d"

Next

If you want a full “how to not mess up” view of resets and recovery:

• Oh Shit, Git?! — Rescue Recipes