Understanding Branches

Introduction

Branches allow you to work on multiple lines of development simultaneously. This lesson covers creating, managing, and using branches effectively.

What Are Branches?

A branch is an independent line of development. Think of it as a parallel universe where you can make changes without affecting the main codebase.

main:     A---B---C---D---E
             \
feature:   \--F---G---H

Viewing Branches

List Local Branches

git branch

List Remote Branches

git branch -r

List All Branches

git branch -a

Show Current Branch

git branch --show-current

Or use:

git symbolic-ref --short HEAD

Creating Branches

Create and Switch (Short Method)

git checkout -b feature-login

This creates and switches in one command.

Create Without Switching

git branch feature-login

Create from Specific Commit

git branch feature-login abc1234

Create from a Tag

git branch release-1.0 v1.0.0

Switching Branches

Switch to Existing Branch

git checkout feature-login

Or the newer syntax:

git switch feature-login

Switch to Previous Branch

git checkout -

Or:

git switch -

Deleting Branches

Delete Merged Branch

git branch -d feature-login

Force Delete (Even if Not Merged)

git branch -D feature-login

Delete Remote Branch

git push origin --delete feature-login

Or old syntax:

git push origin :feature-login

Renaming Branches

Rename Current Branch

git branch -m new-name

Rename Specific Branch

git branch -m old-name new-name

Tracking Branches

Set Upstream During Push

git push -u origin feature-branch

This sets the upstream (tracking) relationship.

View Tracking Relationship

git branch -vv

Shows local branches and their remote tracking branches.

Pull Changes for Branch

git pull

This pulls changes from the upstream branch.

Practical Branching Workflow

Example: Creating a Feature

# Start from main
git checkout main
git pull origin main
Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature-new-login
Make changes
... edit files ...
git add .
git commit -m "Add login form"
Push to remote
git push -u origin feature-new-login

Example: Switching Between Tasks

# Working on feature
git checkout feature-login
Something urgent comes up
git stash
git checkout main
git checkout -b hotfix-urgent
Fix the urgent issue
git add .
git commit -m "Fix urgent bug"
git push -u origin hotfix-urgent
Return to feature
git checkout feature-login
git stash pop

Branch Naming Conventions

Common Patterns

• feature/description - New features
• bugfix/description - Bug fixes
• hotfix/description - Urgent production fixes
• release/version - Release preparation
• experiment/description - Experimental work

Examples

feature/user-authentication
feature/add-shopping-cart
bugfix/fix-login-error
hotfix/critical-security-patch
release/v2.0.0
experiment/new-algorithm

Summary

Essential branch commands:

• git branch - List branches
• git checkout -b - Create and switch
• git checkout or git switch - Switch branches
• git branch -d - Delete branch
• git push -u - Push and set upstream

Next Lesson

Learn how to merge branches together.