67db91dd-3847-4b3f-9b8d-392bd032046c/docs/04-add-commit-status.md

git add, commit & status

Goal

Learn to stage changes, commit them, and inspect repository status.

Start with Untracked Changes

cd ~/lab-git-essentials/my-first-repo
echo "Some notes" > notes.txt
git status

Stage Files

git add README.md notes.txt
git status

Commit with a Message

git commit -m "Add README and notes"
git status

Make and Review Further Changes

echo "Another line" >> notes.txt
git status
git add -p notes.txt   # interactively stage hunks (optional)
git commit -m "Update notes with another line"

Good Commit Messages

• Subject line in imperative mood (<= 50 chars)
• Optional body explaining the why (wrap ~72 columns)

Outcome

You can stage, commit, and check status confidently.