What do the colors in git status mean?

Green: staged files (ready to be committed). Red: modified but not yet staged files, or untracked files. These colors help you quickly see what will be included in your next commit.

What is the difference between "modified" and "staged"?

A "modified" file has been changed since the last commit but is not yet in the staging area. A "staged" file has been added with git add and will be included in the next commit. It is an intermediate step that lets you choose what to commit.

How do I ignore files in git status?

Create a .gitignore file at the root of your project and list the files or patterns to ignore (e.g., node_modules/, *.log, .env). Git status will no longer show them as "untracked".

What is the difference between git status and git diff?

git status shows which files have changed (names and states). git diff shows the exact content of the changes (lines added/removed). Status gives an overview, diff gives the details.

What is an "untracked" file?

An untracked file is a file that Git does not know about. It has never been added with git add. Git flags it so you can choose to add it to the repository or ignore it via .gitignore.

Git status: understand the state of your files

git status is the command you run most often. It shows you which files have changed, which are ready to commit, and which are ignored by Git.

Practice git status Git Glossary

gitquest — enquête

The 3 states of a file in Git

Every file goes through these states. git status tells you where each file stands.

Step 1

Modified / Untracked

The file has been created or modified but is not yet in the staging area. It appears in red in git status.

Step 2

Staged (indexed)

The file has been added with git add. It appears in green and will be included in the next commit.

Step 3

Committed

The file is recorded in the history. It no longer appears in git status (unless it is modified again).

Git status in practice

Full output and the short version.

Full output

gitquest — status

# Check the state of your repository

$git status

On branch main

Changes to be committed:

new file: about.html

Changes not staged for commit:

modified: index.html

Untracked files:

temp.log

notes.txt

Short output (-s)

gitquest — status -s

# Short version with git status -s

$git status -s

A about.html

M index.html

?? temp.log

?? notes.txt

# A = added (staged), M = modified, ?? = untracked

Reading the short output (git status -s)

Symbol	Meaning	Example
A	New file added (staged)	A about.html
M	Modified file	M index.html
D	Deleted file	D old-page.html
??	Untracked file	?? temp.log
UU	Unresolved merge conflict	UU conflicted.html

Part of the Git Basics guide

Related commands

git diff

View the details of changes

git log

View the commit history

git commit

Record your changes

GitQuest is created by Anaïs (nouvelle fenêtre), web developer and head of education, specializing in tech training and digital accessibility.

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