Creating, Managing, and Navigating Branches¶

Master the art of Git branching to organize parallel streams of development work.

Understanding Branches¶

What is a Branch?¶

A branch in Git is simply a lightweight movable pointer to a commit. The default branch name in Git is main (or master in older repositories).

When you create a branch, you're creating a new pointer to the same commit you're currently on:

gitGraph
    commit id: "C1"
    commit id: "C2"
    commit id: "C3"
    branch feature
    checkout main

When you add a new commit to the feature branch, it moves forward while the main branch stays at the same commit:

gitGraph
    commit id: "C1"
    commit id: "C2"
    commit id: "C3"
    branch feature
    checkout feature
    commit id: "C4"
    checkout main

Branch Visualization¶

To visualize your branch structure, use:

Show branch structure with decorations¶

git log --graph --oneline --decorate --all

Create a colorful visualization alias¶

git config --global alias.visual "log --graph --abbrev-commit --decorate --format=format:'%C(bold blue)%h%C(reset) - %C(bold green)(%ar)%C(reset) %C(white)%s%C(reset) %C(dim white)- %an%C(reset)%C(auto)%d%C(reset)' --all"

Then use:

git visual

Creating Branches¶

Creating a New Branch¶

Create a branch that points to your current commit:

Create a branch without switching¶

git branch <branch-name>

Example:

git branch feature-login

Create and Switch in One Command¶

Create a new branch and switch to it immediately:

Using checkout (traditional approach)¶

git checkout -b <branch-name>

Using switch (modern approach, Git 2.23+)¶

git switch -c <branch-name>

Examples:

git checkout -b feature-notifications

git switch -c hotfix-login-bug

Create Branch from a Specific Commit¶

Create a branch starting from a specified commit:

Create branch from a commit hash¶

git branch <branch-name> <commit-hash>

Create and switch in one command¶

git checkout -b <branch-name> <commit-hash>

git switch -c <branch-name> <commit-hash>

Examples:

git branch historical-version 7d3a2c1

git checkout -b fix-old-bug 5e7a91f

Create Branch from a Tag¶

Create a branch starting from a tagged version:

Create and switch to a branch from a tag¶

git checkout -b <branch-name> <tag-name>

git switch -c <branch-name> <tag-name>

Example:

git checkout -b hotfix-v1.2 v1.2.0

Viewing Branches¶

List Branches¶

View the branches in your repository:

List local branches¶

git branch

List all branches (local and remote)¶

git branch -a

List remote branches only¶

git branch -r

List branches with more details¶

git branch -v

Show last commit on each branch:

git branch -vv

Also show upstream branches:

List merged branches¶

git branch --merged

Branches merged into HEAD:

git branch --no-merged

Branches not merged into HEAD

View Branch Details¶

Get more information about a specific branch:

Show the commit hash that the branch points to¶

git rev-parse <branch-name>

See what remote branch a local branch is tracking¶

git branch -vv | grep <branch-name>

Show commit history for a specific branch¶

git log <branch-name>

Show the most recent commit on a branch¶

git show <branch-name>

Switching Between Branches¶

Switch to a Different Branch¶

Move to a different branch in your repository:

Traditional way (still widely used)¶

git checkout <branch-name>

Modern way (Git 2.23+)¶

git switch <branch-name>

Examples:

git checkout develop

git switch feature-user-profile

💡 Tip: Git won't let you switch branches if you have uncommitted changes that conflict with the target branch. Either commit, stash, or discard your changes first.

The Modern switch Command¶

Git 2.23+ introduced switch as a clearer alternative to the overloaded checkout command:

Basic branch switching¶

git switch <branch-name>

Create and switch to a new branch¶

git switch -c <new-branch-name>

Return to the previous branch¶

git switch -

Switch to Previous Branch¶

Quickly jump back to the branch you were on before:

Switch to the last branch you were on¶

git checkout -

Or:

git switch -

Deleting Branches¶

Delete a Fully Merged Branch¶

Remove a branch that has been fully merged into the current branch:

Safe delete (will fail if branch has unmerged changes)¶

git branch -d <branch-name>

Example:

git branch -d feature-completed

Force Delete an Unmerged Branch¶

Delete a branch even if it contains unmerged changes:

Force delete¶

git branch -D <branch-name>

Example:

git branch -D experimental-feature

⚠️ Warning: This permanently discards all commits unique to this branch if they haven't been merged elsewhere.

Delete Remote Branch¶

Remove a branch from a remote repository:

Delete a remote branch¶

git push <remote-name> --delete <branch-name>

Alternate syntax:

git push <remote-name> :<branch-name>

Examples:

git push origin --delete feature-removed

git push origin :old-feature

Renaming Branches¶

Rename Current Branch¶

Change the name of the branch you're currently on:

Rename the current branch¶

git branch -m <new-branch-name>

Example:

git branch -m better-feature-name

Rename Any Branch¶

Change the name of a branch while on a different branch:

Rename any branch¶

git branch -m <old-branch-name> <new-branch-name>

Example:

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

Renaming the Main Branch¶

To rename your default branch (e.g., from master to main):

Create a new branch called main from master¶

git branch -m master main

Push the new main branch and set up tracking¶

git push -u origin main

Change default branch on GitHub/GitLab/etc. (via web interface)¶

Delete the old master branch from remote¶

git push origin --delete master

Working with Remote Branches¶

Pushing a Branch to Remote¶

Share your local branch with others by pushing it to a remote repository:

Push a branch to the remote for the first time¶

git push -u origin <branch-name>

Or:

git push --set-upstream origin <branch-name>

Subsequent pushes after tracking is established¶

git push

Force push (use with caution!)¶

git push --force

Or:

git push -f

⚠️ Warning: Force pushing rewrites history on the remote. Never force push to shared branches unless you're absolutely certain it's safe.

Setting Upstream Branch¶

Connect your local branch to a remote branch for tracking:

Set upstream branch when pushing¶

git push -u origin <branch-name>

Set upstream for an existing branch¶

git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/<branch-name> <local-branch-name>

Or shorter:

git branch -u origin/<branch-name>

Tracking Remote Branches¶

Create a local branch that tracks a remote branch:

Create a local branch from remote¶

git checkout -b <branch-name> origin/<branch-name>

Newer syntax (Git 2.23+)¶

git switch -c <branch-name> origin/<branch-name>

Easiest way - creates a local branch with the same name¶

git checkout --track origin/<branch-name>

Or even shorter if branch names match:

git checkout <branch-name>

List Remote Branches¶

View branches that exist on the remote server:

Show remote branches¶

git branch -r

Show remote branches with more details¶

git branch -rv

Fetch Remote Branches¶

Update your local references to remote branches:

Fetch updates from all remotes¶

git fetch

Fetch from a specific remote¶

git fetch origin

Fetch a specific branch¶

git fetch origin <branch-name>

Branch Management Strategies¶

Branch Naming Conventions¶

A good branch naming strategy helps team members understand branch purpose:

<type>/<description>

Common types include:

• feature/ - New functionality
• bugfix/ - Bug fixes
• hotfix/ - Urgent fixes for production
• release/ - Release preparation
• refactor/ - Code refactoring
• docs/ - Documentation updates
• test/ - Test additions or changes

Examples:

feature/user-authentication
bugfix/login-validation
hotfix/security-vulnerability
release/v2.1.0

Common Branching Models¶

GitFlow: A structured branching model with dedicated branches for development, features, releases, and hotfixes.

gitGraph
    commit
    branch develop
    checkout develop
    commit
    branch feature1
    checkout feature1
    commit
    commit
    commit
    checkout develop
    merge feature1
    branch feature2
    checkout feature2
    commit
    commit
    commit
    checkout develop
    merge feature2
    commit
    checkout main
    merge develop
    checkout develop
    commit
    checkout main
    merge develop

GitHub Flow: A simpler workflow based on feature branches and pull requests.

gitGraph
    commit
    branch feature1
    checkout feature1
    commit
    commit
    checkout main
    merge feature1
    branch feature2
    checkout feature2
    commit
    commit
    checkout main
    merge feature2
    branch feature3
    checkout feature3
    commit
    commit
    checkout main
    merge feature3

Trunk-Based Development: Features are developed in very short-lived branches or directly on the main branch.

gitGraph
    commit
    branch feature1
    checkout feature1
    commit
    checkout main
    merge feature1
    commit
    branch feature2
    checkout feature2
    commit
    checkout main
    merge feature2
    commit
    branch feature3
    checkout feature3
    commit
    checkout main
    merge feature3

Branch Operations¶

Find Branches Containing a Specific Commit¶

Locate which branches include a particular commit:

List all branches containing a commit¶

git branch --contains <commit-hash>

Include remote branches¶

git branch -a --contains <commit-hash>

Find Last Commit on a Branch¶

View the most recent commit on a branch:

Show the tip commit of a branch¶

git show <branch-name>

Just the commit hash¶

git rev-parse <branch-name>

Show commit message only¶

git log -1 --pretty=format:"%s" <branch-name>

Compare Branches¶

See what commits differ between branches:

Commits in branch-A that aren't in branch-B¶

git log branch-B..branch-A

Just the commit summaries¶

git log --oneline branch-B..branch-A

Show the diff between two branches¶

git diff branch-A..branch-B

Show only the file names that differ¶

git diff --name-only branch-A..branch-B

Command Summary¶

Related Topics¶

• Setting up Git and initializing repositories
• Essential everyday Git commands and workflows
• Combining branches with merge and rebase operations
• Working with remote repositories (push, pull, fetch)
• Established Git workflows for teams