Prompt Cheat Sheet

Ready-to-use phrases you can say to developers or to Claude Code. Click any phrase to select it for easy copying.

These phrases work with Claude Code (the AI coding assistant), but they are also perfectly natural things to say to a human developer. You do not need to know Git commands — just describe what you want.

Creating things

"Create a new branch called feature/my-feature"

Creates a new line of work for a specific feature. Replace my-feature with a descriptive name.

"Create a worktree for this feature"

Sets up a separate folder where you can work on the feature without affecting your main workspace.

"Set up an isolated workspace for feature X"

Same as above but using plain language. Claude Code will create both a branch and a worktree.

"Start a new feature branch from develop"

Creates a branch based on the latest develop version. Use this when starting new work.

Working on changes

"Commit this with message: add dark mode toggle"

Saves your current changes as a checkpoint with a descriptive message. The message helps others understand what changed.

"What is the status of my changes?"

Shows which files have been modified, which are staged for commit, and which are new. Equivalent to git status.

"Show me what I changed"

Displays a line-by-line comparison of your changes versus the last committed version. Equivalent to git diff.

"Show me the recent commit history"

Lists the last several commits with their messages, showing who did what and when.

"Undo my last commit but keep the changes"

Removes the last save point but keeps your actual file changes. Useful when you committed too early.

Sharing and collaborating

"Push this branch to GitHub"

Uploads your branch and all its commits to GitHub so others can see your work.

"Create a PR for this branch"

Opens a Pull Request on GitHub requesting to merge your work into the target branch.

"Commit, push, and open a PR"

Does all three steps in one go: saves your changes, uploads them, and opens a PR for review.

"Create a PR to merge feature/X into develop"

Specifically requests merging a named feature branch into develop. Useful when you want to be precise about the target.

Managing branches and worktrees

"Switch to the develop branch"

Changes your current workspace to show the develop branch. Only works if you do not have unsaved changes.

"What branches exist?"

Lists all branches in the project, both local and remote (on GitHub).

"Which branch am I on?"

Tells you the name of the branch currently checked out in your workspace.

"Merge this feature branch into develop"

Combines the changes from your feature branch into develop. Usually done through a PR, but can be done directly.

"Clean up the worktree for feature X"

Removes the worktree folder after the feature has been merged. Keeps your workspace tidy.

"Delete the branch feature/old-feature"

Removes a branch that is no longer needed (usually after it has been merged).

Safety and recovery

"Stash my changes"

Temporarily saves your uncommitted work and restores a clean state. Useful when you need to quickly switch tasks. Use "unstash" or "apply my stash" to get them back.

"Show me the git log"

Displays the full history of commits, letting you see everything that has happened in the project.

"Go back to the last working version"

Reverts your workspace to the last committed state, discarding any uncommitted changes. Use with caution.

"Is it safe to merge right now?"

Asks the developer to check for merge conflicts, failing tests, or other issues before merging. A good question to ask before big merges.

Checking on progress

"What is the status of the PR?"

Checks whether a Pull Request is still open, has been approved, or has been merged.

"Are there any open PRs?"

Lists all Pull Requests that are waiting for review or action.

"What was deployed last?"

Shows the most recent changes that were merged into main (the production branch).

"Who is working on what?"

Lists active branches and their authors, giving you a picture of who is doing what in the project.

Tips for using these phrases

General tips:

You do not need to memorize Git commands. Describe what you want and the developer or Claude Code will translate.
Be specific about branch names when possible (e.g., "merge feature/dark-mode into develop" is clearer than "merge my branch").
When in doubt, ask about status first before requesting actions. "What is the status?" is always safe.
Phrases like "stash", "commit", and "push" are safe operations. They save your work, never destroy it.

Be careful with phrases that include words like "delete", "reset", "force", or "discard". These can permanently remove work. Always confirm before using them.