Interview Q&A

Short answer: Squashing combines multiple small commits into one clean commit before merging — keeping history tidy.

Explain a bit more

Options: On GitHub: When merging a PR, select “Squash and merge.” On local machine: git rebase -i HEAD~3 Change extra commits from pick → squash and then push with: git push -f Real-world example: If your PR has 10 commits like “fix typo,” “oops forgot semicolon,” and “final fix,” you squash them into one commit: 👉 Add responsive navbar component ✅ Pro Tip: A clean workflow often looks like this:

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: You can interactively rebase to edit, squash, or reorder commits using: git rebase -i HEAD~3 This opens an editor showing the last 3 commits: pick 1a2b3c Fix typo in footer pick 4d5e6f Add login API pick 7g8h9i Update UI color scheme You can change: pick → edit to modify a commit pick → squash to combine commits pick → reword to change the… message……… Real-world example: Before merging your feature branch, you may…

Explain a bit more

use git rebase -i to combine small “fix typo” or “debug print” commits into a clean, single commit. ⚠ Don’t rewrite history on shared branches that others are using — it can cause conflicts and confusion. GitHub & Remote Repository Management

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: When you run a merge, Git:

Real-world example (ShopNest)

Feature work for “UPI payment” lives on feature/upi-payment. Open a PR to main; resolve conflicts before merge.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: You can view the commit history by using the command: git log This shows a list of commits, with each commit’s hash, author, date, and message. Real-World Example: Imagine you're trying to figure out when a bug was introduced to your code. By running git log, you can see all previous commits, helping you pinpoint the changes that might have caused the issue. Branching & Merging

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: Manually editing files to combine conflicting changes, then staging and committing them.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

Feature work for “UPI payment” lives on feature/upi-payment. Open a PR to main; resolve conflicts before merge.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: base commit, creating a linear history.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

Feature work for “UPI payment” lives on feature/upi-payment. Open a PR to main; resolve conflicts before merge.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: Rewrites commit history by moving a sequence of commits to a new base commit, creating a linear history.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

Feature work for “UPI payment” lives on feature/upi-payment. Open a PR to main; resolve conflicts before merge.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: local repository, but doesn't merge them.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: Downloads commits, files, and refs from a remote repository into your local repository, but doesn't merge them.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: git remote add <name> <url> - links a local repository to a remote one (e.g., GitHub).

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: git clone <url> - creates a local copy of a remote repository.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked.

Example code

intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked. intentionally ignore from being tracked.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: A file (.gitignore) that tells Git which files or directories to intentionally ignore from being tracked.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: git status (summary), git diff (detailed changes).

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: git reset HEAD <file> (unstage).

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: git restore <file> (unstage/discard working dir changes), git reset HEAD <file> (unstage).

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: working dir changes), git reset HEAD <file> (unstage).

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: And optionally changes the staging area/working directory to a specified commit.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: git reset --soft/--mixed/--hard <commit> - moves HEAD and optionally changes the staging area/working directory to a specified commit.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: changes of a previous commit, preserving history.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: git revert <commit> - creates a new commit that undoes the changes of a previous commit, preserving history.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: git checkout <commit> -- <file> - restores a file to its state at a specific commit.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: reset rewrites history; revert creates a new commit to undo changes, preserving history.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: Shows a log of where your HEAD and branch tips have been, useful for recovering lost commits.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.

Short answer: by an existing commit from another branch onto your current branch.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

ShopNest’s team uses GitHub PRs with reviews and CI checks so broken builds never reach production unnoticed.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.