How to Stage, Commit, Push, and Pull Changes in VS Code

The core Git workflow in VS Code lives in the Source Control view. You stage files, write commit messages, push to the remote, and pull from teammates there.

Everything works through the interface. You do not need terminal commands, though the integrated terminal is always available if you prefer it.

This article assumes you already have a repository open. If you need to set one up first, read /vscode/how-to-initialize-a-git-repository-and-publish-it-to-github-from-vs-code or /vscode/how-to-clone-a-github-repository-in-vs-code.

Understand the Source Control view

Open the Source Control view by pressing Ctrl+Shift+G (Windows/Linux) or by selecting the branch icon in the Activity Bar.

The view has three main sections:

Below these sections, the view shows the Source Control Graph (a visual commit history) and the ellipsis menu (...) for additional commands like Pull, Push, Fetch, and Branch operations.

Stage changes

Staging tells Git which changes you want to include in the next commit. You can stage individual files, all changes at once, or even specific lines within a file.

To unstage a file, hover over it in the Staged Changes list and select the - (minus) icon. The file moves back to Changes without losing your edits.

Review changes before committing

Before you commit, it is a good habit to review what you changed. Select any file in the Changes or Staged Changes list to open the diff editor.

The diff editor shows the old version on the left and the new version on the right (side-by-side mode on wider windows). Changed lines are highlighted: green for additions, red for deletions, and blue for modifications. You can scroll through the entire file to review every difference.

Commit changes

A commit saves your staged changes to the local Git history. It does not send anything to GitHub yet.

After committing, the Source Control view may show a Sync Changes button if your branch has a remote. If you see a Publish Branch button instead, you have not connected this branch to a remote yet.

Push changes to the remote

Pushing uploads your local commits to the remote repository (for example, GitHub). Other team members can then pull your changes.

You have three ways to push:

Pull changes from the remote

Pulling downloads commits from the remote repository that other people (or you, from another machine) have pushed. You should pull before you start working and before you push.

The Status Bar shows a sync status indicator next to the branch name. ↑2 ↓1 means you have 2 local commits to push and 1 remote commit to pull. Select the sync icon to resolve both.

The Sync Changes workflow

For everyday work, Sync Changes is the simplest approach. It handles pull and push in one action. Make changes, save your files, stage what you want, write a commit message, select Commit, then select Sync Changes to pull remote updates and push your commit.

If a teammate pushed changes to the same branch while you were working, Sync Changes pulls those changes first. If Git can merge them automatically, your commit goes on top and everything pushes cleanly.

If there is a conflict, VS Code opens the merge editor and helps you resolve it. Learn more in /vscode/how-to-resolve-git-merge-conflicts-with-the-vs-code-merge-editor.

View commit history

To see the history of commits on your branch, open the Source Control Graph by selecting the graph icon in the Source Control view toolbar. The graph shows:

• Your current branch highlighted
• Commit messages and authors
• Incoming commits (↓) from the remote
• Outgoing commits (↑) that have not been pushed

Select any commit in the graph to see which files were changed.

Undo or discard changes

Once you are comfortable with the basic commit workflow, explore /vscode/how-to-create-switch-and-merge-git-branches-in-vs-code to start working on features in separate branches.