Staging & Committing

The Staging Area

The staging area (index) is where you prepare changes before committing. You choose exactly which changes to include in each commit.

# Stage specific files
git add index.html
git add style.css

# Stage all changes
git add .

# Stage parts of a file (interactive)
git add -p filename.js

# Unstage a file (keep changes)
git restore --staged filename.js

# Check what's staged
git status

Making Good Commits

Each commit should represent a single logical change. Write clear, descriptive commit messages.

# Short message
git commit -m "Fix login button alignment"

# Multi-line message
git commit -m "Add user authentication

- Implement JWT token generation
- Add login and register endpoints
- Create auth middleware"

# Stage and commit tracked files in one step
git commit -am "Update header styles"

Commit Message Best Practices

Good commit messages make your project history useful and readable.

• Use imperative mood: 'Add feature' not 'Added feature'
• Keep first line under 50 characters
• Add blank line before detailed description
• Explain what and why, not how
• Reference issue numbers when applicable: 'Fix #42'
• Each commit should be a single logical change