Git Branch Explained – How to Use and Manage Git Branches

Git branch provides a helpful way to create a subsection of your main work.

In other words, Git branch allows you to try new experiments on a secondary line of development without affecting your main work.

Below are the main ways developers use and manage Git branches.

Cloning a Git Repository and All Its Branches

Git Cloning is mainly about getting (downloading) a copy of a .git repository.

For instance, you may need a copy of a project you intend to modify. In such a case, getting a clone of the project’s .git directory puts in your possession all the file versions the project’s contributors have committed to the .git repository.

To clone a repository, run the following:

Terminal

git clone <theGitRepoURL> <state the place to put the cloned git folder>

By so doing, Git will download a copy of the specified .git repository into the place you’ve identified.

Note

• Replace <theGitRepoURL> with the URL of the .git directory you want to clone.
• Substitute <state the place to put the cloned git folder> with your system’s location, where you want the cloned .git repository to reside. (If omitted, Git will use your current directory as the default clone location.)
• Whenever you clone any remote repo, Git automatically names that repo’s URL “origin”. However, you can specify a different name with the git clone -o yourPreferredName command.

Cloning a Single Remote Branch While Tracking All the Other Ones

Terminal

git clone -b <remote-branch-name> <remote-repo-url>

The command above tells Git to download only the specified remote branch while tracking the others.

Note

• The -b flag is the shorthand notation for --branch.
• Replace <remote-branch-name> with the name of the remote branch you wish to clone.
• Replace <remote-repo-url> with the URL of the remote branch’s repository.

Cloning a Single Remote Branch without Tracking All the Other Ones

Terminal

git clone -b <remote-branch-name> --single-branch <remote-repo-url>

The command above tells Git to download only the specified remote branch without tracking the others.

Note

• The -b flag is the shorthand notation for --branch.
• Replace <remote-branch-name> with the name of the remote branch you wish to clone.
• Replace <remote-repo-url> with the URL of the remote branch’s repository.

Checking the Branches in a Project’s Local Git Repository

Terminal

git branch

The command above will display all the branches in your local Git repository.

Alternatively, you can also use:

Terminal

git branch --list

Note

Git will mark the current branch with an asterisk (*).

Checking the Branches in a Project’s Remote Git Repository without Displaying Their Reference Details

Terminal

git branch -r

The command above will display all the branches in your remote Git repository. But it will omit the branches’ reference details.

Git prefixes a remote branch with its repo’s URL name to distinguish it from your local branch. For instance, origin/main indicates that the main branch lives in a remote repository whose URL’s name is origin.

Note

The -r flag is the shorthand notation for --remotes.

Checking the Branches in a Project’s Remote Git Repository While Also Displaying Their Reference Details

Terminal

git ls-remote

The command above will display all the branches in your remote Git repository and their reference details (including commit hashes).

Checking the Branches in a Project’s Remote Git Repository While Also Displaying Their Hashes

Terminal

git ls-remote --heads

The command above will display all the branches in your remote Git repository and their commit hashes.

Checking All the Branches in a Project’s Local and Remote Git Repository

Terminal

git branch -a

The command above will display all the branches in your project’s local and remote repos.

Creating a New Git Branch

Terminal

git branch new-branch-name

The code above will create a new branch called new-branch-name.

By default, Git creates a new branch from the HEAD point. However, you can specify the exact branch from which you want to create your new branch.

For instance, the command below tells Git to create new-branch-name from existing-branch-name.

Terminal

git branch new-branch-name existing-branch-name

Keep in mind that you can also create a new branch from a specific commit like so:

Terminal

git branch new-branch-name 7b804hrw

The code above instructs Git to create new-branch-name from the commit with the hash number 7b804hrw.

Note

When you use the git branch command to create a new branch, Git will not automatically switch the HEAD pointer to the new branch. You need to use the git checkout command to switch branches.

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Renaming the HEAD Branch

Terminal

git branch -m branch-new-name

The code above will rename the HEAD (active) branch to branch-new-name.

Renaming a Non-HEAD Branch

Terminal

git branch -m branch-old-name branch-new-name

The code above will rename branch-old-name to branch-new-name.

Switching between Git Branches

You can use the checkout or switch command to switch between your project’s branches.

Git checkout vs. switch: What’s the difference?

git checkout is a versatile command for doing many things, such as switching between branches, restoring files, and switching between commits.

However, we use git switch only to switch your project’s HEAD from one branch to another.

Below are popular ways of using git checkout and git switch to switch between branches.

Switching from one branch to another

Terminal

git checkout branch-name

The command above instructs Git to switch to branch-name.

Alternatively, you can also switch branches like so:

Terminal

git switch branch-name

After the switch, branch-name will become the HEAD (active) branch. In other words, the HEAD pointer will move to branch-name.

Tip

Use the git reflog command to see your HEAD pointer’s history.

Suppose you switched from branch A to branch B. In that case, you can use the previous branch shorthand (-) to switch back to branch A:

Terminal

git switch -

Creating and switching immediately to a new branch

Terminal

git checkout -b new-branch-name

The switch command equivalence of the code above is:

Terminal

git switch -c new-branch-name

Note that the -b and -c flags tell Git to create a branch before switching to it. In other words, git checkout -b new-branch-name is a shorthand for:

Terminal

git branch new-branch-name
git checkout new-branch-name

While git switch -c new-branch-name is a shorthand for:

Terminal

git branch new-branch-name
git switch new-branch-name

By default, Git creates a new branch from the HEAD. However, you can specify the exact branch from which you want to create your new branch.

For instance, the command below tells Git to create new-branch-name from existing-branch-name.

Terminal

git checkout -b new-branch-name existing-branch-name

Here is the switch alternative:

Terminal

git switch -c new-branch-name existing-branch-name

Keep in mind that you can also create a new branch from a specific commit like so:

Terminal

git checkout -b new-branch-name 7b804hrw

The code above instructs Git to create new-branch-name from the commit with the hash number 7b804hrw.

Here’s the switch equivalence:

Terminal

git switch -c new-branch-name 7b804hrw

So, now that you know how to switch between Git branches, we can discuss switching between commits.

Switching between Git Commits

You can use the git checkout command to switch from one commit history to another.

By default, Git will only allow you to switch to another commit if you have committed all your changes.

Here’s an example:

Terminal

git checkout z8d2f115010634ea4ae0a2670p7aec61b394c306

The code above tells Git to switch to the commit having a hash string of z8d2f115010634ea4ae0a2670p7aec61b394c306.

Suppose you only wish to restore an old version of a specific commit’s file. In such a case, indicate the file after the commit’s hash like so:

Terminal

git checkout z8d2f11 App.js

The code above tells Git to restore z8d2f11’s App.js file only—not all z8d2f11’s commits.

Note

Whenever you switch to a commit, the HEAD pointer detaches from the branch it was previously on and moves to the commit history you switched to. In other words, whenever you checkout a commit, the project’s HEAD pointer switches to a “detached” state.

Exiting the Detached State of a Project’s HEAD Pointer

You can exit the detached state by switching to any of your project’s branches.

Here’s an example:

Terminal

git checkout main

The code above tells Git to switch to the main branch.

Comparing the Differences between Two Git Branches

You can compare the difference between two branches like so:

Terminal

git diff first-branch-name..second-branch-name

The code above tells Git to show the differences between first-branch-name and second-branch-name.

Tip

Suppose second-branch-name is your HEAD branch (the branch you are currently working in). In that case, you can shorten your diff command by specifying only the non-HEAD branch you wish to use for comparison.

Here’s an example:

Terminal

git diff first-branch-name

The snippet above tells Git to compare the first-branch-name with the HEAD branch.

Therefore, Git will display a result like the following image:

The git diff command returns the difference between two package.json files.

Let’s discuss what the git diff’s output means.

1. Files in which Git found some differences

Terminal

diff --git a/package.json b/package.json

Git used the output above to indicate the files in which it found some differences.

In other words, Git found some differences in the first-branch-name and the second-branch-name’s package.json files.

Note the following:

• a/package.json refers to the package.json of the first branch you specified in your git diff first-branch-name..second-branch-name command. So, in this case, it references first-branch-name.
• b/package.json refers to the package.json of the second branch you specified in your git diff first-branch-name..second-branch-name command. So, in this case, it references second-branch-name.

Note

You can add the --no-prefix flag to the git diff command if you wish to omit the a/ and b/ prefixes from the diff’s output.

For instance, suppose you entered the following command on your terminal:

Terminal

git diff first-branch-name..second-branch-name --no-prefix

Git will remove the prefixes from its output like so:

Terminal

diff --git package.json package.json

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2. Information about the files in which Git found some differences

Terminal

index 44c842a..ffb1440 100644

Here is what the above index information means:

• 44c842a..ffb1440 indicates the SHA-1 checksum of the two files where Git found some differences.
• 100644 refers to the mode of the files represented by the SHA-1 checksum 44c842a and ffb1440.

Note

Git uses mode 100644 for normal files, 100755 for executable files, and 120000 for symbolic links.

3. File a’s marker

Terminal

--- a/package.json

The line above indicates the maker Git used to reference the differences in the first-branch-name’s package.json file.

In other words, Git used --- (minus signs) to mark the differences in the first-branch-name’s package.json file.

Note

Git uses a red color code to indicate the differences marked with the minus sign.

4. File b’s marker

Terminal

+++ b/package.json

The line above indicates the maker Git used to reference the differences in the second-branch-name’s package.json file.

In other words, Git used +++ (plus signs) to mark the differences in the second-branch-name’s package.json file.

Note

Git uses a green color code to indicate the differences marked with the plus sign.

5. The chuck header

Terminal

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@

Here’s what the chuck header above means:

• -27 in -27,7 indicates that Git started the chuck’s extraction from the 27th line of the first-branch-name’s package.json file.
• 7 in -27,7 implies that Git extracted a chuck of 7 lines. In other words, Git extracted lines 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33 from file a.
• +27 in +27,7 signifies that Git started the chuck’s extraction from the 27th line of the second-branch-name’s package.json file.
• 7 in +27,7 implies that Git extracted a chuck of 7 lines. In other words, Git extracted lines 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and 33 from file b.
• The @@symbols mark the beginning and end of the chuck header.

Note

• Git uses a blue color code to indicate the chuck header.
• A chuck header begins a chuck of extracted lines.

6. The context above line 27

Terminal

"prism-react-renderer": "^1.3.1",
"react": "^17.0.2",
"react-dom": "^17.0.2",

The output above is the three lines of context above the difference Git found.

In other words, Git displayed some context above the line where it found a difference.

Note

Git uses a white color code to indicate the context around the differences.

7. File a’s difference

Terminal

- "react-player": "^2.12.0",

The output above shows the difference Git found in the first-branch-name’s package.json file.

Note

The minus (-) symbol preceding the output above is file a’s marker.

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8. File b’s difference

Terminal

+ "react-player": "^2.11.2",

The output above shows the difference Git found in the second-branch-name’s package.json file.

Note

The plus (+) symbol preceding the output above is file b’s marker.

9. The context below line 27

Terminal

  "uniqid": "^5.4.0",
},
"browserslist": {

The output above is the three lines of context below the difference Git found.

In other words, Git displayed some context below the line where it found a difference.

Note

• Git uses a white color code to indicate the context around the differences.
• Suppose nothing shows after running the diff command. In that case, it implies that the two branches have the same content.

Tip

To make each chunk less cumbersome, add the --color-words flag to the git diff command (that is, git diff --color-words). By so doing, each chunk will include just the modified words and their context—not each modified line and its context.

Merging Git Branches

Git merging allows you to merge another branch’s changes into the HEAD (current) branch.

important

Before invoking the merge command, ensure the active branch is the branch you want to merge into.

In other words, switch to the branch you wish to update before running the merge command.

Here’s the merge syntax:

Terminal

git merge name-of-branch-containing-your-changes

The code above instructs Git to merge name-of-branch-containing-your-changes with the HEAD (current) branch.

Git may prompt you to enter a commit message on running the merge command. You can either provide a new message or accept Git’s default.

Afterward, close the editor’s window to save the commit message.

An alternate way to merge changes from one branch into the HEAD branch is to use the rebase command like so:

Terminal

git rebase name-of-branch-containing-your-changes

Note

• Beginners should avoid the rebase command as git rebase re-writes a project’s history while git merge doesn’t.
• See Bitbucket’s merging vs. rebasing article to learn the differences between git merge and git rebase.

Deleting a Git Branch

Terminal

git branch -d branch-to-delete

The code above will delete the branch called branch-to-delete.

Note that you cannot delete the branch that is currently the HEAD branch.

Likewise, Git does not permit deleting a branch containing unmerged changes.

Tip

You can forcefully delete a branch with unmerged alterations by changing the lowercase -d flag to uppercase like so:

Terminal

git branch -D branch-to-delete