Git Status

git status is the command you will run the most. It tells you the current state of your repository.

Run it

bash
git status

What it tells you

• On branch: which branch you are on.
• No commits yet: you have not made your first commit.
• Untracked files: new files Git has not seen.
• Changes to be committed: staged files ready for a commit.
• Changes not staged for commit: edited files that are not staged.

Example output

### On branch main
Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
        modified:   index.html

Keep it short

If the output is long, use the short form:

bash
git status -s

It prints one short line per file. A file marked with ?? is untracked, A is added/staged, and M is modified.

When to check

Run git status:

• before staging,
• before committing,
• after committing to confirm everything is saved,
• any time you are unsure what is going on.

TL;DR

• git status shows the state of your repository.
• It flags untracked, staged, and modified files.
• git status -s gives a short one-line summary.
• The clean message means all changes are committed.