Top 100+ Git Interview Questions and

Answers [2023 Edition]

Table of Contents
What Is Git and Why Is It Used?
Basic Git Interview Questions
Intermediate Git Interview Questions
Popular Git Interview Questions
Advanced Git Interview Questions
View More
Git is the most popular source code management tool. Whether you're a
programmer or a non-technical person, Git will help you with its collaboration
features like bug tracking, task management, and wikis.

Git plays a significant role in an organization to

implement DevOps methodologies. Looking at the popularity of Git in DevOps,
it's quite evident that there will be many job opportunities in the near
future. According to a report from Grand View Research, the global DevOps
market is expected to reach 12.85 Bn by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 18.60%.
Here are some of the top Git interview questions that will help you crack an
interview.

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What Is Git and Why Is It Used?

Git is an open-distributed version control system that allows developers to track

changes to their codebase and collaborate on projects with other developers. Git
is typically used for software development, but it can be used for any type of file.

When a developer makes a change to a code file, they can commit that change
to their local Git repository. Then, they can push their changes to a remote Git
repository, such as a server hosted by a company or an open-source project.
Other developers can then pull the changes down from the remote repository and
incorporate them into their code.

And an important thing about Git is that it is a free source and open to anyone.

Basic Git Interview Questions

1. What is Git?

Git is a version control system for tracking changes in computer files and is used
to help coordinate work among several people on a project while tracking
progress over time. In other words, it’s a tool that facilitates source code
management in software development.

Git favors both programmers and non-technical users by keeping track of their
project files. It enables multiple users to work together and handles large projects
efficiently.

2. What do you understand by the term ‘Version Control System’?

A version control system (VCS) records all the changes made to a file or set of
data, so a specific version may be called later if needed.

This helps ensure that all team members are working on the latest version of the
file

3. What is GitHub?

To provide Internet hosting for version control and software development,

GitHub makes use of Git.

4. Mention some popular Git hosting services.

 GitHub

 SourceForge

 GitLab

 Bitbucket

5. Different types of version control systems

 Local version control systems have a database that stores all file changes
under revision control on disc in a special format.
 Centralized version control systems have a single repository, from which each
user receives their working copy.

 Distributed version control systems contain multiple repositories, and different

users can access each one with their working copy.

6. What benefits come with using GIT?

 Data replication and redundancy are both possible.

 It is a service with high availability.

 There can only be one Git directory per repository.

 Excellent network and disc performance are achieved.

 On any project, collaboration is very simple.

7. What’s the difference between Git and GitHub?

Git GitHub

Git is a software GitHub is a service

Git can be installed locally on the system GitHub is hosted on the web

Provides a desktop interface called

Provides a desktop interface called git GUI
GitHub Desktop.
 It does not support user management features Provides built-in user management

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8. What is a Git repository?

Git repository refers to a place where all the Git files are stored. These files can
either be stored on the local repository or on the remote repository.

9. How can you initialize a repository in Git?

If you want to initialize an empty repository to a directory in Git, you need to enter
the git init command. After this command, a hidden .git folder will appear.

10. How is Git different from Subversion (SVN)?

 GIT SVN

SVN is a centralized version control

Git is a distributed decentralized version control system
system.

Git stores content in the form of metadata. SVN stored data in the form of files.

In SVN, the trunk directory has the

The master contains the latest stable release.
latest stable release

The contents of Git are hashed using the SHA-1 hash SVN doesn’t support hashed
algorithm. contents.

11. Name a few Git commands with their function.

 Git config - Configure the username and email address

 Git add - Add one or more files to the staging area

 Git diff - View the changes made to the file

 Git init - Initialize an empty Git repository

 Git commit - Commit changes to head but not to the remote repository
12. What are the advantages of using Git?

 Faster release cycles

 Easy team collaboration

 Widespread acceptance

 Maintains the integrity of source code

 Pull requests

13. What language is used in Git?

Git is a fast and reliable version control system, and the language that makes this
possible is ‘C.’

Using C language reduces the overhead of run times, which are common in high-
level languages.

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14. What is the correct syntax to add a message to a commit?

git commit -m "x files created"

15. Which command is used to create an empty Git repository?

git init - This command helps to create an empty repository while working on a
project.

16. What does git pull origin master do?

The git pull origin master fetches all the changes from the master branch onto the
origin and integrates them into the local branch.

git pull = git fetch + git merge origin/ master

After having gone through the beginner level Git interview questions, let us now
look at intermediate GIT interview questions and answers.

Intermediate Git Interview Questions

17. What does the git push command do?

The Git push command is used to push the content in a local repository to a
remote repository. After a local repository has been modified, a push is executed
to share the modifications with remote team members.

18. Difference between git fetch and git pull.

 Git Fetch Git Pull

Git pull updates the current HEAD

The Git fetch command only downloads new data from a
branch with the latest changes from
remote repository.
the remote server.

It does not integrate any of these new data into your working Downloads new data and integrate
files. it with the current working files.

Tries to merge remote changes with

Command - git fetch origin
your local ones.

git fetch --all

Command - git pull origin master

19. GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket are examples of git repository

_______ function?

hosting. All the three are services for hosting Git repositories

20. What do you understand about the Git merge conflict?

A Git merge conflict is an event that occurs when Git is unable to resolve the
differences in code between the two commits automatically.
Git is capable of automatically merging the changes only if the commits are on
different lines or branches.

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21. How do you resolve conflicts in Git?

Here are the steps that will help you resolve conflicts in Git:

 Identify the files responsible for the conflicts.

 Implement the desired changes to the files

 Add the files using the git add command.

 The last step is to commit the changes in the file with the help of the git
commit command.

22. What is the functionality of git ls-tree?

The git ls-tree command is used to list the contents of a tree object.
23. What is the process to revert a commit that has already been
pushed and made public?

There are two processes through which you can revert a commit:

1. Remove or fix the bad file in a new commit and push it to the remote
repository. Then commit it to the remote repository using:

git commit –m “commit message”

2. Create a new commit to undo all the changes that were made in the bad
commit. Use the following command:

git revert <commit id>

24. How is a bare repository different from the standard way of

initializing a Git repository?

Standard way Bare way

Does not contain any working or

You create a working directory with the git init command.
checked out copy of source files.

Bare repositories store git revision

A .git subfolder is created with all the git-related change history in the root folder of your
history. repository instead of the .git
subfolder.
25. What does git clone do?

Git clone allows you to create a local copy of the remote GitHub repository. Once
you clone a repo, you can make edits locally in your system rather than directly in
the source files of the remote repo

26. What is Git stash?

Let’s say you're a developer and you want to switch branches to work on
something else. The issue is you don’t want to make commits in uncompleted
work, so you just want to get back to this point later. The solution here is the Git
stash.

Git stash takes your modified tracked files and saves it on a stack of unfinished
changes that you can reapply at any time. To go back to the work you can use
the stash pop.

27. What does the git reset --mixed and git merge --abort commands
do?

git reset --mixed is used to undo changes made in the working directory and
staging area.

git merge --abort helps stop the merge process and return back to the state
before the merging began.

28. What do you understand about the Staging area in Git?

The Staging Area in Git is when it starts to track and save the changes that occur
in files. These saved changes reflect in the .git directory. Staging is an
intermediate area that helps to format and review commits before their
completion.

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29. What is Git Bisect and how do you use it?

The Git Bisect command performs a binary search to detect the commit which
introduced a bug or regression in the project’s history.

Syntax: git bisect <subcommand> <options>

30. How do you find a list of files that has been changed in a particular
commit?

The command to get a list of files that has been changed in a particular commit
is:

git diff-tree –r {commit hash}

 -r flag allows the command to list individual files

 commit hash lists all the files that were changed or added in the commit.

31. What is the use of the git config command?

The git config command is used to set git configuration values on a global or
local level. It alters the configuration options in your git installation. It is generally
used to set your Git email, editor, and any aliases you want to use with the git
command.

32. What is the functionality of git clean command?

The git clean command removes the untracked files from the working directory.

33. What is SubGit and why is it used?

SubGit is a tool that is used to migrate SVN to Git. It transforms the SVN
repositories to Git and allows you to work on both systems concurrently. It auto-
syncs the SVN with Git.

34. If you recover a deleted branch, what work is restored?

The files that were stashed and saved in the stashed index can be recovered.
The files that were untracked will be lost. Hence, it's always a good idea to stage
and commit your work or stash them.
35. Explain these commands one by one– git status, git log, git diff, git
revert <commit>, git reset <file>.

 Git status - It shows the current status of the working directory and the staging
area.

 Git revert<commit> - It is used for undoing changes to a repository's commit

history.

 Git log- It is a key tool for reviewing and reading the history of everything that
happens to a repository.

 Git diff- It is a multi-purpose Git command that performs a diff function on Git
data sources when executed.

 Git reset<file>- it is used to unstage a file.

36. What exactly is tagging in Git?

Tagging enables developers to mark all significant checkpoints as their projects

progress.

37. What exactly is forking in Git?

It is a repository duplicate and forking allows one to experiment with changes

without being concerned about the original project.

38. How to change any older commit messages?

You can change the most recent commit message with the git commit —amend
command.

39. How to handle huge binary files in Git?

Git LFS is a Git extension for dealing with large and binary files in a separate Git
repository.

40. Name a few GIT tools.

Git comes with a few built-in tools like Git Bash and Git GUI.
41. Will you make a new commit or amend an existing one?

The git commit —amend command allows you to easily modify the most recent
commit.

42. What do you mean by branching strategy?

It is employed by a software development team while writing and managing code

with a version control system.

43. Difference between head, working tree, and index.

They are all names for various branches. Even Though a single git repository can
track an arbitrary number of branches, the working tree is only associated with
one of them, and HEAD points to that branch.

44. Is there a git GUI client available for Linux?

Git includes built-in GUI tools for committing (git-gui) and browsing (gitk), but
there are a number of third-party tools available for users seeking platform-
specific experience.

45. What is the benefit of a version control system?

Version control enables software teams to maintain efficiency and agility while
the team grows by adding more developers

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46. What do you mean by git instaweb?

It is a script used to set up a temporary instance of Gitweb.

47. What exactly is the forking workflow?

Forking is a git clone operation that is performed on a server copy of a project's
repository.

48. Mention benefits of forking workflow.

Contributions can be integrated without everyone trying to push to a single

central repository.

49. What is the Gitflow workflow?

The Gitflow Workflow specifies a strict branching model centered on the project
release.

50. What does the commit object contain?

The commit object contains a tree of blob objects and other tree objects that
represent the project revision's directory structure.

51. Write the syntax of rebasing in git.

Syntax is as follows: $git rebase <branch name>

52. What are Git Hooks?

They are scripts that are executed automatically whenever a specific event
occurs in a Git repository.

53. What is Git stash vs Git stash pop?

Git stash pop removes the (topmost, by default) stash when applied, whereas git
stash apply keeps it in the stash list for future use.

54. Explain git reflog This command is used by Git to record changes
made to the branches' tips.

55. Role of the git annotate command.

In git, it is used to track each line of the file based on the commit information.

56. What is a git Directory?

It is the storage place of the metadata and object database of the project.

57. How can a conflict be settled in Git?

Edit the files to resolve any incompatible changes first, then use "git add" to add
the corrected files and "git commit" to save the repaired merge.

58. What is the standard method for branching in GIT?

In GIT, the best way to create a branch is to have one'main' branch and then
another branch for implementing the changes that we want to make.

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59. How do you set up a Git repository?

If you want to add an empty repository to a directory in Git, use the git init
command.

60. What is the proper syntax for appending a message to a commit?

Git commit -m "x files created" is the syntax.

61. Use of git instaweb.

It is used to launch a web browser and a webserver with an interface into a local
repository automatically.

62. Describe git is-tree.

It represents a tree object with each item's mode and name included.
63. What exactly is git cherry-pick?

A command typically used to move specific commits from one branch of a

repository to another.

64. State the difference between “git remote” and “got clone”?

“Git remote” allows you to create an entry in the git configuration which specify a
URL.

“Git clone” lets you create a new git repository by letting you copy it from
the current URL.

65. Difference between “pull request” and “branch”?

“Pull request” is done when you feel like changing the developer’s change to
another person's code branch. And “Branch” is just a separate version of code.

66. How might you recover a branch that has previously pushed
changes in the main repository yet has been coincidentally erased from
each team member's local machines?

We can easily recover this by seeing the latest commit of the branch in the reflog
and then going through the new branch.

67. What is a detached head?

Detach head refers to that the currently checked repository is not in the local
branch.

68. What command helps us to know the branches merged into master
and which are not?

git branch - -merged lets us get the lost of the branches which are currently
merged into the current branch

git branch - - no- merged shows the branches which are not merged
69. Is LDAP Authentication Supported?

GitLab API only supports LDAP authentication since version 6.0 and higher.

Now let’s raise the level of difficulty with advanced Git interview questions and
answers.

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Popular Git Interview Questions

70. A simple definition of Git

Git is a free and open-source distributed version control system designed to

handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.

71. Is the C++ language used in Git?

Yes, but C programming language is a widely used language in Git.

72. How does Git work?

Git works by tracking changes to files in a project and allowing developers to

easily revert to previous versions if necessary. Git also makes it easy to
collaborate on projects, as it allows multiple developers to work on the same
codebase simultaneously.

73. What are some of the most popular Git commands?

Some of the most popular Git commands are,

 "git init" (which initializes a Git repository)

 "git add" (which adds files to a Git repository)

 And "git commit" (which saves changes to a Git repository).

74. List out the functions provided by Git repository hosting service

There are many functions that a Git repository hosting service can provide. Some
of the most common and useful functions include:

 Providing a web interface for users to interact with the repositories

 Allowing users to clone repositories

 Allowing users to view and download statistics about the repositories

 Providing a way for users to push changes to the repositories

 Keeping track of changes made to the repositories

75. What is the difference between Git and other revision control
systems?

 Git is a distributed revision control system, which means that it can be used
without a central server. This allows for a great deal of flexibility in how
projects are managed.

 On the other side, revision control systems are often centralized, which can
limit the flexibility of how projects are managed.

76. How does Git work?

Git works by tracking changes to files in a repository. When a file is changed, Git
calculates a unique identifier for the change, called a "commit hash". The commit
hash allows Git to identify the change and track it over time.

77. How do I install Git?

Installing Git is simple. Just download the latest version from the Git website
(https://git-scm.com/).

78. How do I use Git?

To use Git, a developer first creates a local repository on their computer. This
repository contains all the files for a project and the history of all the changes
made to those files.
Or just follow the instructions in the Git documentation (https://git-scm.com/doc).

79. What are some of the drawbacks of Git?

 One of the main drawbacks is that it can be difficult to learn and use,
especially for those who are not familiar with version control systems.

 And Git is not always reliable and can sometimes be slow.

80. What are some of the most important commands in Git?

Some of the most important Git commands are "commit", "push", and "pull".

 The "commit" command is used to save changes to the local repository.

 And the "push" command is used to send changes to the remote repository.

 Then the "pull" command is used to retrieve changes from the remote
repository.

81. What are some of the most important features of Git?

Some of the most important features of Git are its distributed nature, its ability to
track changes, and its support for branches.

 The distributed nature of Git allows developers to work independently and

offline.

 The ability to track changes helps developers to keep track of their work and
revert to previous versions if necessary.

 The support for branches allows developers to experiment with new features
without affecting the main codebase.

82. What is a branch in Git?

A branch is a way to isolate development work on a particular aspect of a project.

When a branch is created, it diverges from the primary branch. It allows
developers to work on a new feature or bug fix without affecting the main
codebase.
83. What is a commit in Git?

A commit is a way to save changes to a branch. When a commit is made, a

snapshot of the current state of the branch is created. This snapshot can be used
to revert the branch to that state if necessary.

84. What is conflict in Git?

Conflict in Git occurs when two or more developers have made changes to the
same part of a file, and those changes can't be automatically merged. When this
happens, Git will mark the file as conflicted and leave it up to the developers to
resolve the conflict.

Resolving a conflict can be done by manually editing the file to choose which
changes should be kept, or by using a tool like Git's merge command to
automatically merge the changes.

85. What does the git status command do?

The git status command is used to obtain the current state of a Git repository.
This command can be used to determine whether the repository is clean or dirty,
and to see which files have been modified. The git status command will also
show which branch is currently checked out and whether there are any
uncommitted changes.

86. Why is it considered to be easy to work on Git?

There are many reasons that Git is considered an easy tool to work with.

 It has a straightforward learning curve. Even those new to programming can

easily learn how to use Git with just a few hours of practice.

 Git is highly flexible and can be easily customized to fit the needs of any
project.

 And, Git is very stable and reliable, so users can trust that their work will be
safe and sound.

87. What do you know about Git Stash?

Git stash is a powerful tool that allows you to save your changes and revert your
working directory to a previous state. This is especially useful when switching
branches or reverting to a previous commit.

And Git Stash takes a snapshot of your changes and stores them away for later
use.

88. What differentiates between the commands git remote and git
clone?

The main difference between the git remote and git clone commands is that the
git remote adds a remote repository as a shortcut to your current repository,
while the git clone creates an entirely new copy of a remote repository.

89. Tell me the difference between git pull and git fetch?

Both of these commands will fetch any new commits from the remote repository,
but they differ in how they handle these commits.

Git pull will merge the remote commits into the current branch, while git fetch will
simply retrieve the commits and store them in the local repository. This means
that if you have any uncommitted changes, git pull may result in merge conflicts,
while git fetch will not.

90. Is Git and GitHub the same thing?

No, Git and GitHub are two different things.

 Git is a version control system that lets you track changes to your code.

 GitHub is a hosting service for Git repositories. You can use GitHub to store
your code remotely, or you can use it to collaborate with other developers on a
project.

91. What about Git reflog?

Git reflog is a history of all the changes made to a git repository. It is a valuable
tool for debugging and troubleshooting purposes.
And Git reflog can be used to view the history of a repository, see who made
what changes, and when those changes were made.

92. What is a detached head?

A detached HEAD is a state where the HEAD pointer is not pointing to the
current commit. This can happen if you check out a commit that is not the most
recent, or if you reset your head to a previous commit.

93. How to avoid a detached head?

There are a few different ways to avoid a detached HEAD.

 The first is to simply commit your changes before switching branches. This will
ensure that your changes are saved to a specific branch, and you won't have
to worry about them being lost when you switch branches.

 Another way to avoid detached HEAD is to use the "git checkout" command
with the "-b" option.

94. How will you resolve conflict in Git?

To resolve a conflict in Git, you will need to first identify the source of the conflict.
Once you have identified the source of the conflict, you can use the "git pull"
command. This will pull the latest changes from the remote repository and merge
them with your local copy.

If the "git pull" command doesn't resolve the conflict, you can try the "git merge"
command. This will merge the two versions of the code manually. You will need
to resolve the conflicts manually and then commit the merged code.

95. What is Subgit and where do you use Subgit?

Subgit is a tool for managing Git repositories with Subversion history. It allows
you to keep your existing subversion history while moving to Git, and it also
provides a way to keep your Git history synchronized with subversion.

There are many reasons that you might want to use Subgit,
 For example, if you have a large subversion repository with a lot of history,
moving to Git can be a huge undertaking; that's where Subgit can help
transition smoother.

 And if you work in an environment where subversion is the primary version

control system, using Subgit can help you keep your Git history in sync with
the rest of the team.

Advanced Git Interview Questions

96. Explain the different points when a merge can enter a conflicted
stage.

There are two stages when a merge can enter a conflicted stage.

1. Starting the merge process

If there are changes in the working directory of the stage area in the current
project, the merge will fail to start. In this case, conflicts happen due to pending
changes that need to be stabilized using different Git commands.

2. During the merge process

The failure during the merge process indicates that there’s a conflict between the
local branch and the branch being merged. In this case, Git resolves as much as
possible, but some things have to be fixed manually in the conflicted files.

97. What has to be run to squash the last N commits into a single
commit?

In Git, squashing commits means combining two or more commits into one.

Use the below command to write a new commit message from the beginning.

git reset -soft HEAD~N &&git commit

But, if you want to edit a new commit message and add the existing commit
messages, then you must extract the messages and pass them to Git commit.
The below command will help you achieve this:

git reset -soft HEAD~N &&git commit -edit -m“$(git log -format=%B -reverse
.HEAD@{N})”

98. What is the difference between fork, branch, and clone?

Fork Branch Clone

Git clone refers to creating a

The fork is the process when
clone or a copy of an
a copy of the repository is
Git branches refer to individual existing git repository in a
made. It's usually
projects within a git repository. If new directory. Cloning
experimentation in the
there are several branches in a automatically creates a
project without affecting the
repository, then each branch can connection that points back
original project. They’re used
have entirely different files and to the original repository,
to advise changes or take
folders. which makes it very easy to
inspiration from someone
interact with the central
else’s project.
repository.

99. How is Git merge different from Git rebase?

Git merge is used to incorporate new commits into your feature branch.
 Git merge creates an extra merge commit every time you need to incorporate
changes.

 It pollutes your feature branch history.

As an alternative to merging, you can rebase the feature branch into master.

 Git rebase Incorporates all the new commits in the master branch.

 It rewrites the project history by creating brand new commits for each commit
in the original branch

100. What is the command used to fix a broken commit?

To fix a broken commit in Git, you may use the “git commit --amend” command,
which helps you combine the staged changes with the previous commits instead
of creating an entirely new commit.

101. How do you recover a deleted branch that was not merged?

To recover a deleted branch, first, you can use the git reflog command. It will list
the local recorded logs for all the references. Then, you can identify the history
stamp and recover it using the git checkout command.

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102. What is git stash drop?

The Git stash drop command is used to remove a particular stash. If there’s a
stash you're no longer using or you want to remove a specific item of stash from
the list, you can use the stash commands.

Let’s say you want to delete an item named stash@{abc}; you can use the
command:

git stash drop stash@{abc}.

103. What’s the difference between reverting and resetting?

Reverting Resetting

Git reset is a command that is used

The revert command in Git is used to create a new commit to undo the local changes that have
that undoes the changes made in the previous commit. When been made to a Git repository. Git
reset operates on the following:
 you use this command, a new history is added to the project; commit history, the staging index,
the existing history is not modified. and the working directory.

104. How can you discover if a branch has already been merged or not?

There are two commands to determine these two different things.

git branch --merged - Returns the list of branches that have been merged into the
current branch.

git branch --no-merged - Returns the list of branches that have not been merged.

105. What is “git cherry-pick”?

The command git cherry-pick enables you to pick up commits from a branch
within a repository and apply it to another branch. This command is useful to
undo changes when any commit is accidentally made to the wrong branch. Then,
you can switch to the correct branch and use this command to cherry-pick the
commit.

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asked and what possible answers should be given. However, if you wish to bag
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Course that teaches you about the tools and techniques you need to bridge the
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