21/2/23, 11:35 Git Branches: List, Create, Switch to, Merge, Push, & Delete

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Git Branches: List, Create, Switch to, Merge, Push, &

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Git Tips & Commands

October 6, 2021
Read more in Git, Front-End Web Development, Web Development

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Git lets you branch out from the original code base. This lets you more easily work with other
developers, and gives you a lot of flexibility in your workflow.

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Here's an example of how Git branches are useful. Let's say you need to work on a new feature for
a website. You create a new branch and start working. You haven't finished your new feature, but
you get a request to make a rush change that needs to go live on the site today. You switch back to
the master branch, make the change, and push it live. Then you can switch back to your new
feature branch and finish your work. When you're done, you merge the new feature branch into
the master branch, and both the new feature and rush change are kept!

For All the Commands Below

The commands below assume you've navigated to the folder for the Git repo.

See What Branch You're On

Run this command:

git status

List All Branches

NOTE: The current local branch will be marked with an asterisk (*).

To see local branches, run this command:

git branch

To see remote branches, run this command:

git branch -r

To see all local and remote branches, run this command:

git branch -a

Create a New Branch

Run this command (replacing my-branch-name with whatever name you want):

git checkout -b my-branch-name

You're now ready to commit to this branch.

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Switch to a Branch In Your Local Repo

Run this command:

git checkout my-branch-name

Switch to a Branch That Came From a Remote Repo

1. To get a list of all branches from the remote, run this command:

git pull

2. Run this command to switch to the branch:

git checkout --track origin/my-branch-name

Push to a Branch
If your local branch does not exist on the remote, run either of these commands:

git push -u origin my-branch-name

git push -u origin HEAD

NOTE: HEAD is a reference to the top of the current branch, so it's an easy way to push to a
branch of the same name on the remote. This saves you from having to type out the exact name of
the branch!

If your local branch already exists on the remote, run this command:

git push

Merge a Branch
1. You'll want to make sure your working tree is clean and see what branch you're on. Run this
command:

git status

2. First, you must check out the branch that you want to merge another branch into (changes will
be merged into this branch). If you're not already on the desired branch, run this command:

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git checkout master

NOTE: Replace master with another branch name as needed.
3. Now you can merge another branch into the current branch. Run this command:

git merge my-branch-name

NOTE: When you merge, there may be a conflict. Refer to Handling Merge Conflicts
(the next exercise) to learn what to do.

Delete Branches
To delete a remote branch, run this command:

git push origin --delete my-branch-name

To delete a local branch, run either of these commands:

git branch -d my-branch-name

git branch -D my-branch-name

NOTE: The -d option only deletes the branch if it has already been merged. The -D option is a
shortcut for --delete --force, which deletes the branch irrespective of its merged status.

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Related Resources

How to Create a Git Repository: git init

A Git repository (or repo for short) contains all of the project les and the entire revision
history. Learn the Git command to make a repository.

Push to a Remote Repository: git push

After you have a remote repository set up, you upload (push) your files and revision history
to it.

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Pull From a Remote Repository: git pull & git fetch

After someone else makes changes to a remote repo, you can download (pull) their
changes into your local repo.

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