A lot of people these days use tools like oh-my-zsh that come packed with a ton of helpful features out of the box, including Git shortcuts. And don’t get me wrong—they’re great. But I think it’s really important to understand how things work under the hood. You can slap on all the tools you want, but there’s real value in building your own workflow from the ground up.
If you’re curious about my take on why you should write your own tools, you can check out my thoughts here. But for now, I want to show you how Bash functions and aliases can make Git workflows faster, easier, and just plain better. I hope this post gets you excited to dig into your shell’s rc file and start writing your own custom functions and aliases, not just for Git, but for everything you do!
1. Git Aliases
First up, let’s simplify some of those common Git commands. Here are some aliases I’ve set up to make life a little easier in the terminal. Why type a long command every time when you can shorten it to two letters?
alias gs="git status" # Show Git status
alias ga="git add ." # Add all files to the staging area
alias gc="git commit -m" # Commit with a message
alias gp="git push" # Push the current branch to the remote
alias gl="git pull" # Pull from the remote branch
alias glog="git log --oneline --graph --all --decorate" # View Git log in one-line format
alias gco="git checkout" # Checkout a branch
alias gcb="git checkout -b" # Create and switch to a new branch
alias gd="git diff --cached" # View the difference of staged changes
alias grh="git reset --hard HEAD" # Hard reset to the latest commit
alias gb="git branch -vv" # Show branches and last commit in one-line format
alias gf="git fetch --all" # Fetch all remote branches
These aliases shave off seconds, but those seconds add up. Plus, they just feel good to use.
2. Bash Functions for More Complex Git Workflows
Now, let’s kick it up a notch with some custom Bash functions that automate a bit more of your workflow. Functions like these can save you from typing out multiple commands and ensure you don’t miss any steps.
2.1. Create a New Branch and Push It
gnew() {
git checkout -b "$1"
git push -u origin "$1"
}
# Usage: gnew branch_name
2.2. Quick Commit and Push
gquick() {
git commit -am "$1"
git push
}
# Usage: gquick "commit message"
2.3. Rebase Current Branch onto Main
grebase() {
git fetch
git rebase origin/main
}
# Usage: grebase
2.4. Undo the Last Commit
gundo() {
git reset --soft HEAD~1
}
# Usage: gundo
2.5. Squash Commits
gsquash() {
git reset --soft HEAD~"$1"
git commit --amend
}
# Usage: gsquash 3 (to squash the last 3 commits)
2.6. Sync Fork with Upstream
gupdate-fork() {
git fetch upstream
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main
git push origin main
}
# Usage: gupdate-fork
2.7. Interactive Rebase on Previous Commits
grebasei() {
git rebase -i HEAD~"$1"
}
# Usage: grebasei 3 (to interactively rebase the last 3 commits)
3. General Workflow Enhancers
These final functions enhance general Git workflows to make things even more efficient.
3.1. Show Git Tree
glogtree() {
git log --graph --oneline --decorate --all
}
# Usage: glogtree
3.2. Reset Branch to Remote
gresetremote() {
git fetch origin
git reset --hard origin/"$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)"
}
# Usage: gresetremote
4. Add Aliases and Functions to Your .bashrc or .zshrc
If you want these functions and aliases to persist across terminal sessions, you’ll need to add them to your .bashrc or .zshrc. Here’s how:
-
Open your shell configuration file:
nano ~/.bashrc # OR ~/.zshrc Paste the aliases and functions into the file.
-
After saving, refresh your shell:
source ~/.bashrc # OR ~/.zshrc
These are just some of the ways you can make Git work for you, rather than the other way around. By taking a few minutes to tweak your shell setup, you can save hours of typing and clicking over time. So what about you?
Top comments (45)
For you gnew function : by adding the code below in your
~/.gitconfig, the branch will be automatically created in your repo with the firstgit pushUsing that config, your gnew function is perhaps useless.
Woa! I've actually never edited my git config like that. Didn't even know it! Will have to check out the configuration options! Very cool.
A few days ago I've published an article about tips & tricks about
.gitconfig: avonture.be/blog/git-configYour linked post has 0 feedback. I am signed in to GitHub, but it wouldn't let me upvote it or add a comment.
(Oh? Thanks for the intention anyway ;-))
Those are some amazing aliases, simple and efficient. Love it. Added them to my
.zshrcalready :DI generally feel like a lot of developers don't know how much easier they can make their lives with a few bash aliases/functions. Here is one of my new all-time favorites which I added today. It recursively deletes a directory with a specific name in your current working directory (use with caution!). I use it to delete all node_modules in a monorepo.
Very cool! Now this is what I'm talking about. 😎
Or use a GUI tool like sourcetree or fork. Really let's you achieve a lot very quickly and in short time. And also, discover many features and abilities of git by exploring the GUI tool - which otherwise we probably would've never actively enquired about.
Of course, all of this recommended after you have mastered basic Git CLI and know how git works under the hood.
I have a discussion going around this very topic right here! :)
I won’t use any of these samples (git commands are just baked into my brain at this point) but I love that you’re thinking of ways to improve your workflow, and that you’re using your shell to do it.
I will agree with @manchicken too. Over the years git commands kinda got baked into my brain as well. But its nice to see some amazing options. Thanks for sharing.
The purpose isn't to exactly get people to follow what I do. But rather show people how I solve common problems using the shell. There's so much power at your fingertips. Whatever I can do to inspire people to become less afraid of the beautiful terminal :)
Strong agree. Thanks for spreading the
$TERMlove."2.3. Rebase Current Branch onto Main"
Could be made faster if you just did:
git rebase origin/main. No need to switch branches at allThat wouldn't guarantee you have the latest commits from origin. Git is "lazy" about fetching updates. If you don't specifically checkout and pull, you would rebase to the last state you left
main.It doesn't pull from local. That's the point of using origin/main instead of just main. You might need to git fetch, but you don't need to switch to main and pull. You can rebase from your other branch
Yeah, so:
should be a lot faster. It's been so long since I've wrote some of these aliases and functions. It's a commands shorter, and it would be faster technically. Tested it out this morning and everything seems like it works like it's supposed to! I appropriate the optimization :) You're correct on that call!
Oh yeah, that's right! Because it's grabbing from local instead of remote. This is why we test things out before making changes ;)
Thanks for the advice! I'll test it out and update my script. Good catch! 😎
Agreed! Especially now with AI, it is super easy to create new aliases and scripts.
Here is my Git config with aliases etc.
Also, I use Better Branch for pretty branch info
This could just be
to make your git config a little less cluttered 😉
I tell people, "GIT makes hard things possible. It makes easy things possible, too!", LOL. Its the first version control system that requires you to memorize every detail of how its implemented to have a snowball's chance in hell of mastering it. ..
you know... I can do what you do with Powershell. and is FASTER than git bash.
(git for windows is sort of garbage, but zsh is another realm that is for linux or macOs)
you can do it over here: powershellgallery.com/packages/git...
I hope people on Windows check this out!
Pretty cool, I like aliases as they come handy, In my
bashrcI source analiasesfile wherin I definegit cofor checkout,git stfor git statusgit cpfor cherry-pick, ..etc. I plan to build some Complex Git Workflows soon.Bash functions work perfectly for those more complex flows! :)
Nicely explained
Thank you very much! :)
By bash you don't mean "bashing" right?
No, it's just a play on words. I use bash to write helpful aliases and functions to help improve my git flows in the terminal
For 2.2 just use
git commit -amto get rid ofgit add ..Changed and updated! Thank you very much :)
impressive code and details side-by-side just like roblox mod menu apk free is very learning way ....!!!
Thank you very much! :)
Did you really say that I should build my own tools instead of using someone else's well-crafted solutionl? Oh-my-zsh does all of this and more... who cares if I wrote it myself?
When I need a car, I go buy one... ready to roll. Do you fire up a smelter in your back yard to create some iron and then stainless steel...???
In the end, it is only by standing on this shoulders of those who came before us that we can reach new heights.
I linked to my article about my opinion on building your own tools. I think your arguing against a point I'm not trying to make. I implore you to read it if you'd like a better understanding of my position on this matter. Maybe you could take up this conversation over there! :)
If your own tools can work like 5% better for you than someone else's tools, and it takes you maybe 5 to 10 minutes to write them, then I say over the course of a programming career the effort is going to more than pay for itself.
For aliases with longer names, it's better to just use
git whateverinstead ofgwhatever, both to make it easier to remember, easier to read scripts, and easier to search your *sh history.If your command is short, you can set up a git alias in your config; prepend them with a
!to run shell commands.For longer scripts, if you create a script named
git-whateverand have it in your path, you can callgit whateverand git will call your script for you. You don't save much typing but that way you don't need to remember if some helper was a git alias or a standalone script.Some comments may only be visible to logged-in visitors. Sign in to view all comments.