Exercise - Change commit history

In this lab, you will learn how to modify commit history in Git to maintain a clean and organized project history. Understanding how to change commit history is an important skill for managing your Git repositories effectively, especially when working in team environments where a clean history helps with code review and debugging.

You will learn how to:

  • Amend the most recent commit
  • Rebase commits interactively
  • Squash multiple commits into one
  • Reword commit messages
  • Understand when and why to change commit history
  • Apply best practices for commit history management

This lab takes approximately 30-45 minutes to complete.

Before you start

To complete the lab, you need:

  • A GitHub user account. If you don't have one, you can create a new account. If you need instructions on how to create a GitHub account, refer to the article Creating an account on GitHub.
  • Basic understanding of Git and commits.
  • A web browser with access to the internet.

Complete the exercise on GitHub

In this exercise, you'll learn to modify commit history through a hands-on GitHub Skills exercise.

Note: This exercise is hosted on GitHub Skills and provides an interactive learning experience. You'll practice various techniques for modifying commit history while understanding the implications of rewriting history.

The exercise consists of the following activities:

  1. Start a web browser and navigate to the exercise repository: https://github.com/skills/change-commit-history

  2. On the exercise page, select the Use this template button to copy the exercise to your GitHub account.

    Note: Simply copy the exercise to your account, then give GitHub about 20 seconds to prepare the first lesson, then refresh the page.

  3. Follow the instructions on the repository's README to complete all the challenges.

  4. Work through each step in the exercise, following the prompts and instructions provided.

    Note: Be cautious when rewriting history that has been pushed to shared branches. It's generally safe to rewrite history on feature branches before merging.

  5. When you finish all the challenges, you'll understand how to maintain a clean and professional commit history.

What you've learned

After completing this exercise, you should be able to:

  • Amend the most recent commit
  • Use interactive rebase
  • Squash multiple commits
  • Reword commit messages
  • Understand when to rewrite history
  • Apply commit history best practices

Congratulations! You've completed the "Change commit history" exercise!