The Complete Git Workflow

Now that you know the fundamental commands, let's see how they fit together into a daily workflow. This is the cycle you'll repeat hundreds of times as a developer.

The Core Loop

Every change you make in Git follows this pattern:

Edit  -->  Status  -->  Add  -->  Commit
  ^                                  |
  |                                  |
  +----------------------------------+

1. Edit your files in your editor
2. Status — run git status to see what changed
3. Add — stage the changes you want with git add
4. Commit — save a snapshot with git commit
5. Repeat

A Typical Session

Here's what a real workflow looks like:

# 1. Check where you are
git status

# 2. Make your changes
# (edit files in your editor)

# 3. Review what changed
git diff

# 4. Stage specific files
git add src/feature.js
git add src/feature.test.js

# 5. Double-check what's staged
git diff --staged

# 6. Commit with a clear message
git commit -m "Add user profile feature"

# 7. Verify in the log
git log --oneline -3

Choosing What to Commit

Not every change needs to go into the same commit. Good practice is to make small, focused commits that each do one thing:

• One bug fix = one commit
• One feature = one commit (or a small series)
• Refactoring = separate commit from behavior changes

Use git add selectively to stage only the files relevant to each commit.

The Mental Model

Think of your Git workflow as three areas:

Files flow from left to right. You control exactly what moves forward at each step.

Quick Reference

What's Next?

With these basics mastered, you're ready to learn about branching — Git's killer feature that lets you work on multiple things at once without them interfering with each other.