Make git friendlier with aliases

Git drives me crazy with its obtuse command-line interface. Over time, I’ve added many aliases to my ~/.gitconfig in order to make its interface more clear.

Here are some of my favorites:

aliases = config --get-regexp ^alias\\.
discard = checkout --
generate-ignore = "!gi() { curl -L -s https://www.gitignore.io/api/$@ ;}; gi"
list-tracked = ls-tree -r HEAD --name-only
list-ignored = ls-files --others -i --exclude-standard
new-branch = checkout -b
push-branch = "!git push -u origin `git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD`"
uncommit = reset --mixed HEAD~
unstage = reset -q HEAD --

aliases lists all my aliases. It could be formatted a bit better, but works well for me.

discard lets me discard changes to a file I'm working on. I never remember how to do this, especially as it uses the same command you use to switch branches.

generate-ignore can generate a .gitignore file for me. I use this at the start of each project.

new-branch and push-branch are huge for me. new-branch makes it explicit that I’m trying to create a new one, and push-branch pushes my local branch to a (generally new) branch of the same name on my origin repo.

uncommit and unstage are quick ways to reverse a mistake I’ve made without having to search for those arcane commands.