Q7 of 40 · Git

How do you check the status of your repository and the current branch?

GitJuniorgitstatusbranchfundamentalsdaily-workflow

Short answer

Short answer: git status shows the current branch, staged changes, unstaged changes, and untracked files in one view. git branch lists local branches (current one marked with *). git log --oneline -5 shows recent commits. For a compact daily-status view, git status -s gives a two-column shorthand.

Detail

git status is the first command to run when disoriented in a repo. It tells you:

  • Which branch you're on (and whether it's ahead/behind remote)
  • Changes staged for the next commit
  • Changes in the working directory not yet staged
  • Untracked files

Branch visibility:

  • git branch — local branches
  • git branch -r — remote-tracking branches
  • git branch -a — all (local + remote)
  • git branch -v — with the latest commit SHA and message per branch

Short status (git status -s): two columns — left is staging area, right is working tree:

  • M = modified, A = added, ? = untracked, D = deleted

For scripts and CI: git status --porcelain outputs a machine-readable format that's stable across Git versions — useful for hooks that check if the working tree is clean.

// EXAMPLE

# Full status
git status

# Short format
git status -s
# M  tests/LoginTest.java   ← staged (left column)
#  M tests/UserTest.java    ← unstaged (right column)
# ?? tests/NewTest.java     ← untracked

# List branches
git branch -vv
# * feature/login   a1b2c3d [origin/feature/login: ahead 2] Add login test
#   main            e5f6789 [origin/main] Fix: user creation

# Check if working tree is clean (useful in CI / pre-commit hooks)
if git diff-index --quiet HEAD --; then
    echo "Clean — nothing to commit"
else
    echo "Uncommitted changes detected"
fi

// WHAT INTERVIEWERS LOOK FOR

Knowing git status as the daily-driver command, git branch -vv for tracking branch context, and the --porcelain flag for scripting. Candidates who reach for git log before git status often have a workflow gap.

// COMMON PITFALL

Not running git status before git add . and accidentally staging unintended files (generated reports, .env files, build outputs that should be in .gitignore).

// Related questions

How do you create a new branch and switch to it?

Git

Explain the difference between the working directory, staging area, and commit.

Git

How do you view the commit history? How do you make it readable?

Git