git add — Staging Changes

git add moves changes from your working directory into the staging area (also called the index). Think of it as preparing a package — you carefully choose what goes in before sealing it with a commit.

01.The Staging Area Explained

The staging area sits between your working files and the repository. It gives you a chance to craft the perfect commit — grouping related changes together and leaving unrelated work for later. This two-step workflow (add then commit) is one of Git's most powerful features.

Git's Three Areas

📁

Working Dir

Your files

→ git add

📋

Staging Area

Prepared

→ git commit

🗄️

Repository

.git/ history

02.Selective Staging with -p

git add -p (patch mode) lets you stage individual lines or "hunks" within a file. You can make 10 changes in one file but only stage 3 of them for this commit. This is how experienced developers write clean, focused commit histories even while working messily.

Commit Timeline

a1b2c3d

init

b2c3d4e

feat

c3d4e5f

fix

d4e5f6a

HEAD

Commands

commands — click to reveal output

git add README.md

Stage a single specific file

git add src/

Stage all files inside a folder

git add .

Stage ALL changes in the current directory

git add *.js

Stage all JavaScript files using a glob pattern

git add -p

Interactively choose which changes (hunks) to stage

git status

See what is staged vs unstaged

▼ show output

KNOWLEDGE CHECK

What is the main purpose of the staging area?

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