A detailed Mermaid sequence diagram illustrating the complete Git workflow, showcasing command interactions across local and remote repositories, including setup, branching, staging, committing, pushing, pulling, and various advanced Git operations.

git-command-workflow-sequence-diagram.md

Git Command Workflow Sequence Diagram

%% https://mermaid.js.org/syntax/sequenceDiagram.html#styling
%% It would be cool to add sequences to the top from the column names
%%{
  init: {
	"theme": "base",
	"sequence": {
	  "actorFontFamily": "monospace",
	  "actorFontWeight": "bold",
	  "messageFontFamily": "monospace",
	  "messageFontWeight": "bold",
	  "noteFontWeight": "bolder"
	}
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}%%
sequenceDiagram
%% box transparent Local
	%% actor Developer

	%% Stash+StagingArea ~/<repo>/.git/refs
	participant Stash

	%% WorkingDirectory ~/<repo>
	participant WorkingDirectory as Working<br/>Directory

	%%(Index)
	participant StagingArea as Staging<br/>Area

	%% LocalRepository+RemoteBranchTracking ~/<repo>/.git
	participant LocalRepository as Local<br/>Repository
	participant RemoteBranchTracking as Remote<br/>Branch<br/>Tracking
%% end


%% box transparent  Remote
	participant RemoteRepository as Remote<br/>Repository
%% end


opt Setup
	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git config
	Note over LocalRepository: configures global or repository-specific Git settings,<br/>such as the username, email, and editor

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git init
	Note over LocalRepository: initializes a new Git repository

	RemoteRepository -->> LocalRepository: git clone
	Note over RemoteRepository, LocalRepository: clones a repository from a remote source

	RemoteRepository ->> RemoteRepository: git remote
	Note over RemoteRepository: displays and manages remote repository connections
end


opt Branching
	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git branch <branch_name>
	Note over LocalRepository: creates a new branch

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git switch <branch_name>
	Note over LocalRepository: switches between branches.<br/>Use `-c` to create and switch.

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git checkout <branch_name>
	Note over LocalRepository: switches to a different branch

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git branch
	Note over LocalRepository: lists all branches in the repository

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git branch --all
	Note over LocalRepository: lists all local and remote<br/>branches in the repository.

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git branch -d <branch_name>
	Note over LocalRepository: deletes a local branch safely,<br/>ensuring no unmerged changes are lost.

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git branch -m <old_name> <new_name>
	Note over LocalRepository: renames a branch locally.
end


WorkingDirectory -->> Stash: git stash
Note over WorkingDirectory, Stash: temporarily saves uncommitted changes<br/>that are not yet ready to be committed

Stash ->> Stash: git stash list
Note over Stash: displays a list of all stashes<br/>available for the repository

Stash ->> Stash: git stash drop
Note over Stash: removes a specific stash entry<br/>by its index or name

Stash ->> WorkingDirectory: git stash pop
Note over Stash, WorkingDirectory: applies and drops changes from the stack

Stash ->> WorkingDirectory: git stash apply
Note over Stash, WorkingDirectory: ONLY applies changes

WorkingDirectory ->> StagingArea: git add/mv/rm
Note over WorkingDirectory, StagingArea: adds files to the staging area

StagingArea ->> LocalRepository: git commit
Note over StagingArea, LocalRepository: commits changes to the repository

WorkingDirectory ->> LocalRepository: git commit -a
Note over WorkingDirectory, LocalRepository: automatically stages all tracked files<br/>that have been modified or deleted.<br/>It does NOT stage:<br/>New (untracked) files or<br/>files that have not been previously committed

LocalRepository ->> RemoteRepository: git push
Note over LocalRepository, RemoteRepository: pushes changes to a remote repository

LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git tag
Note over LocalRepository: creates an immutable references for a specific commit


opt Update
	RemoteRepository -->> WorkingDirectory: git pull
	Note over RemoteRepository, WorkingDirectory: pulls changes (fetch + merge).<br/>Use `--rebase` for rebased history.

	RemoteRepository -->> RemoteBranchTracking: git fetch
	Note over RemoteRepository, RemoteBranchTracking: fetches changes from a remote repository

	RemoteRepository -->> RemoteBranchTracking: git fetch --prune
	Note over RemoteRepository, RemoteBranchTracking: fetches updates and prunes<br/>stale branches.

	RemoteBranchTracking -->> WorkingDirectory: git merge
	Note over RemoteBranchTracking, WorkingDirectory: merges changes from one branch into another

	RemoteRepository -->> WorkingDirectory: git rebase
	Note over RemoteRepository, WorkingDirectory: reapplying commits on top of a fetched branch

	WorkingDirectory -->> WorkingDirectory: git rebase -i
	Note over WorkingDirectory: interactively edits commit history,<br/>squashes, or reorders commits.

	LocalRepository -->> WorkingDirectory: git cherry-pick
	Note over LocalRepository, WorkingDirectory: applies the changes introduced by a specific commit to the current branch
end


opt Status
	WorkingDirectory -> StagingArea: git status
	Note over WorkingDirectory, StagingArea: shows the status of the repository
	%% shows the author, commit hash, and timestamp for each line of a file, helping identify when and by whom changes were made

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git show
	Note over LocalRepository: used to display information about a commit

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git blame
	Note over LocalRepository: shows who made changes to each line of a file

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git log
	Note over LocalRepository: shows a log of all the commits in the repository

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git whatchanged
	Note over LocalRepository: deprecated but useful for showing commit<br/>history alongside detailed file changes
end


opt Reset & Revert
	WorkingDirectory ->> WorkingDirectory: git clean
	Note over StagingArea, WorkingDirectory: permanently removes untracked files and<br/>directories from the working directory

	StagingArea -->> WorkingDirectory: git reset <file>
	Note over StagingArea, WorkingDirectory: discards changes made to a file

	LocalRepository -->> StagingArea: git reset --soft <commit>
	Note over LocalRepository, WorkingDirectory: resets the repository to a previous commit, but keeps changes staged

	LocalRepository -->> WorkingDirectory: git reset --mixed <commit>
	Note over LocalRepository, WorkingDirectory: resets the repository to a previous commit<br/>and keeps changes them in the working directory
	
	LocalRepository -->> WorkingDirectory: git reset --hard <commit>
	Note over LocalRepository, WorkingDirectory: resets the repository to a previous commit<br/>and removes changes from the working directory and staging area.<br/>WARNING: this removes all uncommitted changes permanently

	StagingArea -->> WorkingDirectory: git restore
	Note over StagingArea, WorkingDirectory: restores files to a previous state<br/>without switching branches or commits.

	StagingArea -->> WorkingDirectory: git checkout <file>
	Note over StagingArea, WorkingDirectory: discards changes made to a file and<br/>restores it to its last committed state

	LocalRepository -->> WorkingDirectory: git checkout HEAD
	Note over LocalRepository, WorkingDirectory: discards changes made to all tracked files<br/>and restores them to their last committed state

	LocalRepository -->> WorkingDirectory: git revert <commit>
	Note over LocalRepository, WorkingDirectory: creates a new commit that undoes<br/>the changes from a previous commit

	LocalRepository -->> WorkingDirectory: git revert --no-commit <commit>
	Note over LocalRepository, WorkingDirectory: prepares a revert without creating<br/>an immediate commit, allowing<br/>additional changes before finalizing
end


opt Compare
	WorkingDirectory -> StagingArea: git diff
	Note over WorkingDirectory, StagingArea: shows the differences<br/>between commits or branches

	WorkingDirectory -> LocalRepository: git diff HEAD
	Note over WorkingDirectory, LocalRepository: compares working directory<br/>changes against the last commit

	WorkingDirectory -> StagingArea: git diff --staged
	Note over WorkingDirectory, StagingArea: compares staged changes<br/>against the last commit.

	WorkingDirectory -> StagingArea: git diff <commit1> <commit2>
	Note over WorkingDirectory, StagingArea: compares two specific commits.

	WorkingDirectory -> StagingArea: git diff --cached
	Note over WorkingDirectory, StagingArea: alternative to --staged, showing<br/>differences in the staging area.
end


opt Search & Debugging
	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git grep
	Note over LocalRepository: searches for text in the repository

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git bisect
	Note over LocalRepository: automates binary search through<br/>commits to find the introduction of a bug

	LocalRepository ->> LocalRepository: git reflog
	Note over LocalRepository: inspects reference logs<br/>to recover lost commits<br/>or check HEAD movements.
end


opt Conflict Resolution
	WorkingDirectory ->> WorkingDirectory: git mergetool
	Note over WorkingDirectory: launches a merge tool to resolve conflicts

	WorkingDirectory ->> WorkingDirectory: git checkout --ours/theirs
	Note over WorkingDirectory: selects the local/remote version of a conflicting file

	WorkingDirectory ->> WorkingDirectory: git rerere
	Note over WorkingDirectory: records resolved conflicts and reuses<br/>them when the same conflict occurs again
end

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