My recommendations: * Git From the Bottom Up: https://jwiegley.github.io/git-from-the-bottom-up/ https://jwiegley.github.io/git-from-the-bottom-up/ (PDF: http:

My recommendations: * Git From the Bottom Up: https://jwiegley.github.io/git-from-the-bottom-up/ https://jwiegley.github.io/git-from-the-bottom-up/ (PDF: http://ftp.newartisans.com/pub/git.from.bottom.up.pdf http://ftp.newartisans.com/pub/git.from.bottom.up.pdf) (See also: "Linus Torvalds' greatest invention": http://perl.plover.com/yak/git/ http://perl.plover.com/yak/git/) Once your mental model matches the program, you'll be able to understand everything, hack your own solutions if necessary, etc. * Learn Git Branching: https://learngitbranching.js.org https://learngitbranching.js.org -- in fact I think this should be the UI for Git; wish someone would make that happen (i.e., so that you can point it to any Git repo and get that sort of visualization for it).