Here are the Top 20 Git Interview Questions and Answers with Explanations — useful for freshers to advanced-level developers:
✅ Top 20 Git Interview Questions and Answers (Explained)
1. What is Git?
Answer:
Git is a distributed version control system used to track changes in source code during software development. It allows multiple developers to work on a project simultaneously without affecting each other’s work.
2. What is the difference between Git and GitHub?
Answer:
- Git is a local VCS for tracking changes.
- GitHub is a cloud-based platform to host and collaborate on Git repositories.
3. What are the advantages of Git?
Answer:
- Distributed architecture (no internet needed for local operations)
- Branching and merging are fast and easy
- Lightweight and high performance
- Keeps full history of changes
- Secure with SHA1
Top 20 Git Interview Questions and Answers
4. Explain the Git lifecycle.
Answer:
Git workflow has 3 main stages:
- Working Directory: Files being edited
- Staging Area (Index): Files added using
git add - Repository: Final commits stored using
git commit
5. What is the difference between git pull and git fetch?
Answer:
git fetch: Gets updates from remote but does not merge.git pull: Fetches + automatically merges changes into your local branch.
git fetch origin
git pull origin main
6. What does git clone do?
Answer:
Clones (downloads) a repository to your local system.
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
7. How do you check the status of your Git repository?
Answer:
Use git status to see changes staged, unstaged, or untracked.
git status
Top 20 Git Interview Questions and Answers
8. What is a Git branch?
Answer:
A branch represents an independent line of development. Git allows multiple branches so features can be developed in isolation.
9. How do you create and switch between branches in Git?
Answer:
git branch feature # Create
git checkout feature # Switch
# or both in one
git checkout -b feature
10. How do you merge branches in Git?
Answer:
Switch to the target branch and merge:
git checkout main
git merge feature
11. What is a conflict in Git, and how do you resolve it?
Answer:
A merge conflict occurs when Git cannot automatically merge changes. You resolve it by editing the files manually, then:
git add conflicted-file
git commit
Top 20 Git Interview Questions and Answers
12. What is .gitignore?
Answer:
A file that tells Git which files/folders to ignore during commits. Example:
node_modules/
.env
*.log
13. What is the difference between git reset, git revert, and git checkout?
Answer:
git reset: Removes commits from history (destructive).git revert: Undoes a commit by creating a new commit (safe).git checkout: Switch branches or restore files.
14. What is a detached HEAD in Git?
Answer:
When you checkout a commit (not a branch), HEAD is “detached,” meaning you’re not on any branch. Changes here are not saved unless a branch is created.
git checkout <commit-id>
15. What is the stash command in Git?
Answer:
Temporarily saves uncommitted changes so you can work on something else.
git stash # Save
git stash apply # Reapply
Top 20 Git Interview Questions and Answers
16. What is git cherry-pick?
Answer:
It applies a specific commit from one branch onto another.
git cherry-pick <commit-id>
17. How do you undo the last commit?
Answer:
git reset --soft HEAD~1 # Keep changes in staging
git reset --mixed HEAD~1 # Keep changes in working dir
git reset --hard HEAD~1 # Delete changes completely
18. What is the difference between git merge and git rebase?
Answer:
git merge: Combines branches and keeps history.git rebase: Rewrites history to linearize commits (cleaner history).
19. What is a remote repository in Git?
Answer:
A version of your project hosted on a remote server (like GitHub, GitLab).
git remote add origin <url>
git push -u origin main
20. How do you delete a Git branch?
Answer:
- Local branch:
git branch -d branch-name
- Remote branch:
git push origin --delete branch-name
Top 20 Git Interview Questions and Answers
✅ Bonus: Git Cheat Sheet
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Stage file | git add <file> |
| Commit | git commit -m "message" |
| View log | git log |
| View branches | git branch |
| Push to remote | git push origin main |
| Pull from remote | git pull |
Table of Contents
Top 20 Git Interview Questions and Answers
2 comments
[…] Top 20 Git Interview Questions and Answers […]
[…] Top 20 Git Interview Questions and Answers […]