🧑💻 GitHub Desktop vs Git CLI Cheat Sheet A quick-reference guide to help you understand what GitHub Desktop is doing behind the scenes — and how to do the same with raw Git commands.
Action in GitHub Desktop
Equivalent Git Command
Fetch
git fetch origin
Pull
git pull origin <branch>
Push
git push origin <branch>
Action in GitHub Desktop
Equivalent Git Command
Create new branch
git checkout -b <new-branch>
Switch branch
git checkout <branch>
Rename branch
git branch -m <new-name>
Delete local branch
git branch -d <branch>
Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete <branch>
Action in GitHub Desktop
Equivalent Git Command
Merge main into current branch
git merge origin/main
Rebase current onto main
git rebase origin/main
Resolve conflicts
Edit files + git add <file>
Finish merge
git commit (if needed)
Action in GitHub Desktop
Equivalent Git Command
Stage changes
git add <file>
Unstage changes
git reset <file>
Commit
git commit -m "message"
Amend last commit
git commit --amend
Action in GitHub Desktop
Equivalent Git Command
View commit history
git log --oneline --graph --decorate
View changes in a commit
git show <commit>
Revert commit
git revert <commit>
Checkout old commit
git checkout <commit> (detached HEAD)
🕵️ Inspect GitHub Desktop Internals
Task
Tip
See raw commands used
Open DevTools: Cmd+Opt+I (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+I (Win/Linux)
Show actual Git repo
Right-click repo → "Show in Finder"/"Reveal in Explorer"
Sync CLI + Desktop
Just use the same .git repo folder from terminal
GitHub Desktop always uses the local .git repo — anything you do in CLI will reflect there immediately.
You can combine Desktop's UI with CLI power tools (git log, tig, lazygit, etc.)
To debug more: try git reflog or git status in terminal after Desktop actions.
Keep this cheat sheet nearby while learning Git — and become unstoppable in both UI and terminal workflows!
