20 Essential Git Commands Every Data Engineer / Data Scientist Should Know

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As an Data Engineer, version control is crucial for managing data pipelines, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and ETL scripts. Here’s your comprehensive guide to the most useful Git commands you’ll need daily.

1. git clone

How to use:

git clone https://github.com/username/repository.git

Why it’s cool: Downloads a complete copy of a remote repository, including all versions and branches. Perfect for getting started with existing AWS CloudFormation templates or Glue job repositories.

Pro-tip: Use git clone --depth 1 for a faster clone with only the latest version when working with large repositories of data transformation scripts.

2. git status

How to use:

git status

Why it’s cool: Quickly check which files have been modified in your AWS Lambda functions or Step Functions state machines before committing.

Pro-tip: Use git status -s for a condensed view when managing multiple data pipeline files.

3. git add

How to use:

git add <filename>
git add .  # adds all files