Cheat Sheets · Git Cheat Sheet · Git Tag a Release — Lightweight & Annotated Tags

Git Tag a Release — Lightweight & Annotated Tags

git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release v1.0.0"

Annotated (Recommended)

git tag v1.0.0

Lightweight

git push origin v1.0.0

Push Single Tag

git push origin --tags

Push All Tags

Tag creation and push commands

Command	Type	Description
`git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release v1.0.0"`	`Annotated (Recommended)`	`Includes tagger name, email, date, and message`
`git tag v1.0.0`	`Lightweight`	`Simple bookmark pointer to current commit (no metadata)`
`git push origin v1.0.0`	`Push Single Tag`	`Push specific tag to remote repository`
`git push origin --tags`	`Push All Tags`	`Push all local tags to remote at once`

Tags point to specific points in Git history, typically marking release versions (e.g. v1.0.0, v2.1.3) in semantic versioning.

Related Git recipes

Undo Last Commit — 3 Safe Ways Discard Local Changes — Safely and Completely Delete a Branch — Local and Remote Stash — Park Changes Without Committing Amend the Last Commit Undo a Pushed Commit — The Safe Way (git revert) Rename Local Branch — Safely & Quickly Rename Remote Branch — Complete 3-Step Process Cherry Pick — Apply a Specific Commit Elsewhere Squash Last N Commits — Combine Multiple Commits Sync Fork with Upstream — Step-by-Step Delete Remote Tag — Local and Remote Change Commit Author — Email & Name Unstage File — Remove from Staging Area Log Graph — Visual Commit History in Terminal Clean Untracked Files — Remove Clutter Safely Switch Branch — Modern Branch Navigation Create Branch from Commit — Branch Off History Stash Untracked Files (-u and -a Flags) Force Pull — Overwrite Local Changes with Remote Resolve Merge Conflict — Complete Workflow Show Commit — Inspect Changes in a Commit

FAQ

Why prefer annotated tags over lightweight tags?
Annotated tags are full Git objects with cryptographic verification, author name, timestamp, and release notes. They are standard for releases.

Can I tag an older historical commit?
Yes: append the commit SHA: git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release v1.0.0".

How to check out a tag?
Run git checkout v1.0.0 (puts you in detached HEAD) or git switch -c release-1.0 v1.0.0 to start a branch from the tag.

Stop memorizing — build it interactively

Build tag workflows in the Git Builder

Full reference: Git Cheat Sheet