Jujutsu "Cheatsheet" for LLM's and Git users

Jujutsu (jj) version 0.41+ defaults to "colocated" mode, which maintains a real `.git/` directory alongside `.jj/` for seamless interoperability with existing Git tools. Users must configure `.gitignore` before running `jj git init --colocate` to prevent build artifacts, secrets, and OS junk from being swept into the initial commit. The tool provides distinct commands for finalizing changes (`jj commit -m`) versus editing descriptions (`jj describe -m`), with the latter only renaming the current change rather than creating a new commit.

jj can manage a brand-new repo or one that already has a .git directory. The colocated mode is the most useful for interop — it keeps a real .git/ directory alongside .jj/ , so other tools gh , IDE git integrations, GitHub Actions checkout, pre-commit hooks still work normally. Initialize a brand-new colocated repo in the current directory. --colocate is the default in jj 0.41+; the flag is harmless. Use --no-colocate to opt out. jj git init --colocate Convert an existing git repo to be jj-managed run inside the repo jj git init --colocate Clone an existing remote as a colocated repo colocation is the default; use --no-colocate to disable jj git clone --colocate <git-url <dir Create a jj repo backed by an existing Git repo at a different path jj git init --git-repo <path-to-git-repo <name Check or change colocation mode of an existing repo jj git colocation status jj git colocation enable jj git colocation disable ⚠️ Set up .gitignore BEFORE running jj git init --colocate . jj snapshots the working copy on every command, and anything not gitignored at init time gets swept into the initial change. Cleaning it up afterward is annoying — you have to abandon/squash and re-snapshot, and if you've already pushed, the bad blobs live in the remote history. Common offenders to ignore first: build output dirs node modules/ , target/ , build/ , dist/ , secrets .env , credentials files , OS junk .DS Store , Thumbs.db , editor swap/backup files, and large binary artifacts.If you've already done the init without ignoring something, see Undo an Accidental Working-Copy Snapshotbelow — the recipe is .gitignore the path first, then jj file untrack . Configure identity jj uses --user instead of git's --global jj config set --user user.name "Your Name" jj config set --user user.email you@example.com Edit config by scope jj config edit --user jj config edit --repo jj config edit --workspace Finalize the current change AND open a new empty change on top. This is the right tool for landing a sequence of separate commits. jj commit -m "Commit message" Edit JUST the description of the current change no finalize, no new change . After this, further edits keep modifying the same change. jj describe -m "New commit message" Set the working-copy revision for amend-style edits, prefer jj new + jj squash jj edit @ Create a new empty change on top of current commit or a specified revision jj new ⚠️ Common pitfall: using jj describe -m between push cycles when you meant jj commit -m . describe only renames the current change — subsequent edits stack onto the same change, and successive describe /push cycles sideways-overwrite the same commit on origin under different messages while accumulating diff. Looks like N separate commits in your terminal scrollback, but only one commit exists in git history. Use jj commit -m whenever you want the current change to be done and a fresh empty change ready for the next feature. Show repository status similar to git status jj status View detailed log jj log View last N commits jj log -n 5 Show diff of current working copy jj diff Show diff between specific revisions jj diff --from <rev1 --to <rev2 Show diff between a revision and its parent s jj diff -r <rev New files are auto-tracked by default except ignored files Configure with snapshot.auto-track example disables auto-track jj config set --repo snapshot.auto-track "none " Manually track or untrack paths jj file track <paths jj file untrack <paths List all bookmarks similar to git branches jj bookmark list Create a bookmark similar to git branch jj bookmark create <name Point a bookmark at your current work mirrors git checkout -b <name jj bookmark create <name -r @ Create and switch to a bookmark similar to git checkout -b jj bookmark create <name && jj edit <name Update a bookmark to point to another revision forward only by default jj bookmark set <name <revision Move a bookmark often used to update a bookmark to point to current working copy Use --allow-backwards to move a bookmark backwards or sideways: jj bookmark set <name @ jj bookmark set <name <revision --allow-backwards Track or inspect remote bookmarks jj bookmark track <name --remote=<remote jj bookmark list --remote <remote jj bookmark list --all-remotes show everything local + every remote Bookmarks are jj's branch equivalent; there is no "current" bookmark. Bookmarks do not move when you create new commits, but they follow rewrites. python Fetch remote refs/commits and import them into jj jj git fetch Target a specific remote mirrors git fetch <name jj git fetch --remote <name After fetch, rebase or merge onto the desired remote bookmark jj rebase -d <bookmark @<remote Export your current jj view into the underlying Git repo jj git export Push changes to GitHub defaults to tracked bookmarks jj git push Push a specific bookmark mirrors git push origin <branch . In jj 0.41+, new bookmarks are auto-tracked on push — no --allow-new needed. --allow-new still works but is deprecated; tracking can also be auto-configured via remotes.<name .auto-track-bookmarks. jj git push -b <bookmark name Push a commit by change-id — auto-creates a push-<changeid bookmark. Ideal for one-shot WIP / "open a PR for this change" workflows. jj git push --change @ Push a new bookmark under an explicit name without creating it locally first jj git push --named myfeature=@ Push a commit that has no description yet otherwise rejected . Default: jj refuses to push commits with empty descriptions. jj git push -b <bookmark name --allow-empty-description Push to a specific remote jj git push --remote <name -b <bookmark name After using regular git commands, re-import to update jj's view jj git import Inspect or add remotes jj git remote list jj git remote add <name <url There is no jj git pull ; use jj git fetch + jj rebase -d <bookmark @<remote or merge . Set default remotes in .jj/repo/config so plain jj git fetch or jj git push pick the expected remote: git fetch = "origin" push = "origin" jj does NOT use git's remotes unless configured in jj: jj git remote list jj git remote add origin <ssh-url If git shows "HEAD no branch ", reattach: git switch -c <branch then export jj state into git if needed jj git export Notes: - In a colocated repo, jj git push uses jj's remote list, not git's. Add the remote in jj or set git fetch/push in .jj/repo/config . - If you already have git remotes, copy the SSH URL from git remote -v into jj git remote add . - Run jj git fetch to bring down the latest remote refs. - Use jj rebase -d <bookmark @<remote or merge so your commits sit on the desired remote tip. - In colocated workspaces, jj auto-imports/exports on every command; in non-colocated workspaces, use jj git export after jj changes and jj git import after git changes. - Push with jj git push -b <bookmark — new bookmarks are auto-tracked on push in jj 0.41+; for one-shot WIP/PR, jj git push --change @ auto-creates a push-<changeid bookmark and pushes it. - If you moved refs in Git directly, mirror those moves back into jj with jj git import . @ - Current working copy @- - Parent of current working copy @-- - Grandparent of current working copy <bookmark @<remote - Remote-tracking bookmark e.g., main@origin <commit id - Specific commit by ID prefix is enough to be unique <change id - Change ID shown at the start of jj log , stable across rewrites <bookmark name - Points to commit with that bookmark Create a new change, then squash it into the previous commit jj new ... make changes ... jj squash --from @ --into @- Create a new branch jj bookmark create feature-branch Create a new commit automatically on the new branch jj commit -m "Start work on feature" Squash one revision into another jj squash --from <rev --into <target Rebase a range of commits onto a target jj rebase -s <start ..<end -d <target View conflicted files jj status Resolve conflicts with merge tool jj resolve <file path After resolving, continue with the operation jj commit -m "Resolved conflicts" Inspect the operation log jj op log Undo/redo the most recent operation s jj undo jj redo Revert or restore a specific operation from the log jj op revert <operation id jj op restore <operation id jj auto-snapshots all non-ignored working-copy files into @ on every command. Colocating a repo jj git init --colocate or running any jj command while build caches / vendored deps / scratch files are still untracked will pull that junk into your change. Two ways to back it out: BEST for untracked junk: ignore it, then untrack it files stay on disk . jj file untrack refuses unless the path is gitignored, so ignore it first. echo 'some-build-dir/' .gitignore jj file untrack some-build-dir scratch some-cache.bin Operation-log rewind: undoes the LAST operation rebase/squash/describe/etc. . jj undo revert the most recent op jj op restore <operation id rewind to a known-good op see jj op log Caveat: jj undo / jj op restore alone will not keep untracked files out — the next jj command re-snapshots them. For stray untracked files the durable fix is always gitignore + jj file untrack or delete the files . Tested on jj 0.41. Restore paths from another revision into the working copy jj restore --from <rev --into @ <paths Apply the inverse of a revision onto a destination jj revert -r <rev -o <dest - jj automatically snapshots your working copy before operations - There is no staging area; most jj commands snapshot the working copy automatically - Use jj op log + jj undo / jj redo or jj op revert / jj op restore to recover - Use jj abandon to abandon a revision use --retain-bookmarks if needed - Use descriptive bookmark names for easier navigation jj git subcommands provide interop with git repositories jj log shows the change ID first, then the commit ID | Git Command | Jujutsu Equivalent | |---|---| git add | Automatic with jj or jj file track | git commit | jj commit -m "message" | git commit --amend | jj new + jj squash --into @- | git checkout branch | jj edit branch name | git branch | jj bookmark list | git branch name | jj bookmark create name | git push | jj git push | git pull | jj git fetch + jj rebase -d <bookmark @<remote | git log | jj log | git diff | jj diff | git rebase | jj rebase | git reset --hard HEAD~1 | jj abandon @ | git stash | Not needed auto-snapshots |