GitHub Interview Questions and Answers for freshers

Top Interview Questions for GitHub

Find the most asked GitHub Interview Questions and Answers on this page.

Page Highlights:

  • What is Git?
  • Top 31 GitHub Interview Questions

GitHub Introduction

Git is an open-source and free distributed version control system that helps the programmer to keep a track of changes that were made to the projects and enables multiple users to work together on non-linear development and handle the large project efficiently. Git is a DevOps tool mainly used for source code management.

The main objectives of Git:

  • Speed
  • Data integrity
  • Support for distributed 
  • Non-linear workflow.

GitHub Interview Questions and Answers For Freshers

Ques 1: Define Version Control System(VCS)?

Ans.

A version control system is defined as a system that keeps all records of the changes made on a specific project, and also helps us to ensure whether all developers in a team are working on the same or not. It manages the history of all the activities done so, it gives a developer the confidence to fix a bug or make any changes or run a test so if anything goes wrong previous work can be restored anytime.

Ques 2: What is GitHub?

Ans.

GitHub is defined as the Git repository hosting service platform used for software development. It helps us to work on projects and collaborate with other developers at any moment from anywhere.

Ques 3: What is git pull and git push?

Ans. 

Git pull: Git pull command refers to a command which helps to fetch and integrate modifications in the contents from the remote repository to the local repository. To make it easy for you to understand we can remember this equation:

                                  Git pull = Git fetch+Git merge

In other words, git pull is the combination of git fetch and git merge.

Command: git pull <remote> <branch>

Git push: Git push is the opposite of git pull in which the command is used to transfer the content of the local repository into the remote repository.

Command: $git push <option> [<Remote URL><branch name><refspec>…]

Ques 4: What is the difference between git pull and git fetch?

Ans.

Git PullGit Fetch
Git pull command will retrieve all the information on new changes in the content from the remote repository to the local repository by merging with the existing branch. Git fetch command is used to provide information on new changes from the remote repository to the local repository without merging with the existing branch.
Command: git pull .Command: git fetch
Git pull command’s main function is to fetch as well as merge with the new modifications.Git fetch command function is to fetch the new modifications.
Repository data is updated in the local repository as well as the remote repository. Repository data is updated directly keeping the remote repository unmodified.

Ques 5: What is the function of git annotate?

Ans.

Git annotate function: 

  • The main function of git annotate is to observe every activity such as modifications of the data in the file introduced with the executed information. 
  • Git annotate command optionally annotates from a provided revision of the file.

Command used: git annotate [<options>]<file>[<revision>]

Ques 6: What are git clone and git remote?

Ans.

Git clone: Git clone command helps to create a duplicate or copy of an existing file in the remote repository which will help you to make modifications in the local repository instead of modifying the file from the remote repository.

Command used: $ git clone -b

Git Remote: Git remote command helps you to create, delete, and view connections between remote and local. To view the original file of the copied repository, use the git remote command as

Command used: $ git remote

Ques 7: What are git revert and git reset?

Ans.

Git Revert: Git revert command is an undo operation that is carried out if we make any mistakes in the commit. It helps to find out how to reverse changes in the commit and the resultant is added as a new commit.

Git reverse helps in the prevention of losing history from the Git. It is a secure alternative to git reset with concerns about losing work.

Command: $ git revert 

Git Reset: Git Reset command is a command that is used to revise and undo changes in a branch. The disadvantage of using the reset command is that the history will get changed.

Command: $ git reset <option><commit-sha>

Ques 8: What do you mean by the Git repository? How do you create a Git repository?

Ans.

Git repository: 

  • A repository in Git is a place where workflow is securely stored. It is considered a task folder where the task is saved in a directory called the .git repository folder. 
  • Git repository uses a version control system to monitor the modifications made on a particular project and save them into the .git repository folder which eases the user to make future changes.

Developing a git repository:

To develop a repository in git, use the command “git init” on the created project directory. If the directory of the project is not created then you need to create a new directory and then run the command “git init”. 

Ques 9: Define the commit message.

Ans.

Commit: It is described as a saved message. A commit message tells the edits that are made in the project.

Ques 10: How git rebase is different from git merge?

Ans.

Git rebaseGit merge
Logs are linear in Git rebase which means it won’t show the complete history of merging occurring. Logs are non-linear which means logs will show all the merging history that occurred. 
It is a multi-stage operation. It is a one-step operation. 
Git rebase is performed when the main branch is a particular branch. Git merge is performed when the main branch is a combined branch. 
Command used: $git rebase Command used: $git merge

Ques 11:What is the difference between Git and GitHub?

Ans.

Git GitHub
Git is software.GitHub is a service. 
Git is a Command-Line interface.GitHub is a Graphical User interface. 
Git is Maintained by Linux GitHub is Maintained by Microsoft
No user management feature. User management feature available. 
Git is open-sourced licenseGitHub includes free and pay-for-use features. 
Git should be installed locally in the system GitHubGitHub is hosted on the web

Ques 12: Distinguish between Git and SVN.

Ans. 

GitSVN
Git is a distributed modelSVN is a centralized model
Difficult to learn.Easy to learn when compared to Git
In Git, the .git directory is created by us.In SVN, the .svn directory is created for each folder
Git doesn’t have a good User Interface when compared to SVNSVN has a good User Interface

Ques 13: List out the Git commands and explain their roles.

Ans. Listing out the most common commands used in Git.
Git commands

Role

git diff

Display the changes made in a project

git config

Install the email and name of the creator.

git add

To add new files in the staging area.

git commit

Commit all modifications to the head, not to the remote repository.

git init

Creates an empty repository in a specific directory.

git clone

Make a copy of data from the remote repo and locate it in the local repository.

git fetch

Fetching the data without merging with the existing branch

Ques 14: What is the function of the git cherry-pick command?

Ans.

The main function of the cherry-pick command in Git allows to select commits from one branch in a repo and added in the existing branch. This process is helpful to undergo undo process if something goes wrong during an operation.

Command used: $git cherry-pick <commit id>

Ques 15: Name the language used in Git.

Ans.

C programming language is used in Git. 50% of Git is written in the C programming language.

Ques 16: What is the function of git reflog?

Ans.

The main functionality of git reflog is to keep track of updates to the tip of branches using a mechanism called reflog. The reflog is also known as the reference log.

Ques 17: What is the functionality of git Is-tree?

Ans.
The main purpose of the git Is-tree command is to record the contents of a tree object.

 

Ques 18: What is the difference between Head, Working Tree, and Index in Git?

Ans

  • Head: The Head is the parent of the next commit that is created. It is a pointer to the current branch reference and also a pointer to the last commit on the branch.
  • Working Tree: The working tree is where your files reside and also you can try changes before committing. It is to record the snapshots of the project.
  • Index: The index is a staging area between the working directory and repository. It is used to build a set of changes that you want to commit together.

Ques 19: What are the advantages of using Git?

Ans.

The main advantages of using Git are:

  • Showcase your work: One can show his/her hard work by using Git. This helps many of the students to get placed since all recruiters are finding through Git.
  • Performance: It is very flexible when compared to older versions. 
  • Security: Git uses an algorithm called SHA 1 that protects the code and change history against accidental changes or malicious damage.
  • Wide Acceptance: Git is the most widely accepted system as it has universally accepted usability and performance standards.

Ques 20: What happens when the .git directory gets deleted?

Ans.

  • .git directory is an important element in Git that stores all the reports related to the commits, remote repo address also maintains a record of all the commit history which will help you to retrieve any code whenever needed. 
  • However, deleting the .git folder won’t delete the files contained in the folder eventually, lose track of your project’s history.  the folder will no longer be included in versioning control. 

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GitHub Interview Questions and Answers For Experienced.

Ques 21: What is the command used to write a commit message?

Ans.

Command used: $git commit -m “<commit message>”.

Ques 22: What is Git architecture?

Ans.

In an agile project the tasks are divided into smaller iterations or segments. In agile the software product is broken down into incremental modules and each module is completed to finish the project. Each iteration contains planning, designing, coding, testing and maintenance of the software.

Ques 23: What is the use of staging area or indexing in Git?

Ans.

One can add and remove changes from the staging area. It is considered the real area where git stores the changes.

Ques 24: Write down the command used to create an empty Git repository.

Ans.

The command used to create an empty Git repository is “git init”. It is used to create a new repository.

 

Ques 25:How git status is different from git diff?

Ans.

Git Status: Git Status Shows the difference between the working directory and index.

Git Diff: Git Diff Shows the changes between commits and the working directory.

Ques 26: How to fix a broken commit?

Ans. A broken comment can be fixed using the command “git commit -amend”.

Ques 27: List the different Git repository hosting functions.

Ans.

  • Different hosting functions on the git repository are
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • SourceForge
  • Bitbucket
  • Visual studio team
  • Beanstalk

Ques 28: What is the main role of command git config?

Ans.The Git config command is a command used to check the configuration for your git installation and also maintains the git looks and functions.

Also useful while Installing the email and name of the creator.

Command used: $git config

Ques 29:How do we revert a commit which is already been pushed?

Ans.

The steps involved to revert a commit which is already been pushed are

  1. Move to the Git history
  2. Right-click on the commit that you want to revert
  3. Select revert commits
  4. Ensure the commit the change is reviewed
  5. Click on revert

Ques 30: How to recover a deleted branch in Git?

Ans.Recover a deleted branch in Git:

  • On github.com, navigate to the repository of the main page.
  • Click pull requests under your repository name.
  • Click on “closed” to see the closed pull requests.
  • Click the pull request associated with the branch, you want to restore.
  • Click “Restore branch” at the bottom of the pull request.

Ques 31: Define conflict in Git and how to fix it.

Ans.

Git Merge Conflict: It is an event that takes place when Git is unable to resolve differences in code between two commits automatically. If the commits are on different lines or branches then git can merge the changes automatically.

Example: If two developers X and Y are working on the same file from the remote repository. And each of them wants to make changes. If X makes some changes and pushes the file back to the remote repository from the local repository. Now, when Y tries to push that file after making changes from his end, he is unable to do so, because the file has already changed to the remote repository.

To avoid this conflict, the Git merge command combines separate branches and resolves any conflicting edits.

Fixing the conflict

  • One has to make necessary changes to resolve the conflicted file by opening it.
  • After the changes or editing, use the git add a command to stage the new merged content.
  • Create a new commit with the help of the git commit command.
  • Git will create a new merge commit to finalize the merge.

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