git-add

Stage a specific file

$ git add [path/to/file]

$ git add .

$ git add -A

$ git add -u

$ git add -p [path/to/file]

$ git add "*.js"

$ git add -f [path/to/ignored/file]

$ git add -i

git add [OPTIONS] [--] PATHSPEC...

git add stages changes in the working directory for the next commit. It adds content to the staging area (index), creating a snapshot of files that will be included when git commit is run.
Changes can be staged at the file level or selectively at the hunk level using -p (patch mode). In patch mode, you can review each change and choose whether to stage it, allowing fine-grained control over commits.
The staging area allows you to prepare commits incrementally, choosing exactly which changes to include. Files can be unstaged using git restore --staged or git reset.

-A, --all

Stage all changes (new, modified, deleted) in entire working tree.

Stage modifications and deletions of tracked files only, not new files.

Interactively choose hunks to stage from each file.

Enter interactive mode for selecting files to stage.

Allow adding ignored files.

Show what would be staged without actually staging.

Show files as they are added.

Record only that the path will be added later (stage empty content).

Refresh the index without adding files.

Staging a file captures its state at that moment. If you modify a staged file further, you must run git add again to stage the new changes. The command does not stage ignored files unless -f is used. Using git add . only stages changes in the current directory and below, while git add -A stages changes throughout the entire repository.

git add has been part of Git since its initial release by Linus Torvalds in 2005. The staging area concept (also called the index) is a distinctive feature of Git, allowing more flexible commit preparation compared to version control systems that commit working directory changes directly.

git-commit(1), git-status(1), git-reset(1), git-diff(1)