One of Git's most powerful features is its branching system. Branches allow you to diverge from the main line of development and work on different features or fixes in isolation, without affecting the main codebase.

Understanding Branches

A branch in Git is simply a lightweight movable pointer to a commit. The default branch in Git is called main (previously master). Every time you commit, the branch pointer automatically moves forward to your latest commit.

Think of branches as separate workspaces where you can develop features independently before merging them back together.

Why Use Branches?

Branches serve several important purposes:

Isolation: Develop new features without affecting the stable codebase
Experimentation: Try out ideas without commitment
Parallel development: Multiple developers can work on different features simultaneously
Organization: Separate work by feature, bug fix, or release

Creating Branches

To create a new branch:

git branch feature-login

This creates a new branch pointer at your current commit but doesn't switch to it. To create a branch and switch to it immediately:

git checkout -b feature-login

The above command is equivalent to:

git branch feature-login
git checkout feature-login

With newer Git versions (2.23+), you can use the more intuitive syntax:

git switch -c feature-login

Listing Branches

To see all local branches:

git branch

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

To see all branches, including remote branches:

git branch -a

To see the last commit on each branch:

git branch -v

Switching Between Branches

To switch to an existing branch:

git checkout branch-name

Or with the newer syntax:

git switch branch-name

When you switch branches, Git updates the files in your working directory to match the snapshot of the branch you switched to. This means your working directory will look different after switching branches.

Switching with Uncommitted Changes

If you have uncommitted changes when you try to switch branches, Git will:

Let you switch if the changes don't conflict with files in the target branch
Prevent you from switching if the changes would be overwritten

If you want to switch branches but aren't ready to commit your changes, you can use Git's stash feature:

git stash save "Work in progress on feature X"
git checkout other-branch

To get your changes back later:

git checkout original-branch
git stash pop

Working with Branches

After creating a branch, you work with it just like any other Git environment:

Make changes to your files
Stage changes with git add
Commit changes with git commit

Each commit on your branch builds on the previous one, creating a separate line of development.

Example Branch Workflow

Here's a typical workflow with branches:

# Create and switch to a feature branch
git checkout -b feature-user-profiles

# Make changes and commit them
echo "<h1>User Profile</h1>" > profile.html
git add profile.html
git commit -m "Add user profile page"

# Make more changes
echo "<div class='profile-content'></div>" >> profile.html
git add profile.html
git commit -m "Add content container to profile page"

# Switch back to main branch when done
git checkout main

Branch Naming Conventions

Using consistent branch naming conventions helps keep your repository organized:

Feature branches: feature/feature-name or feature-name
Bug fix branches: bugfix/issue-description or fix-issue-description
Release branches: release/version-number
Hotfix branches: hotfix/issue-description

Choose a convention that works for your team and stick with it.

Visualizing Branches

To see a graphical representation of your branch structure:

git log --graph --oneline --all

This command shows a text-based graph of your commit history across all branches.

For a more focused view of the current branch and its relation to other branches:

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

Deleting Branches

After you've merged a branch, you often want to delete it to keep your repository clean:

git branch -d feature-login

If the branch hasn't been fully merged yet, Git will prevent its deletion. To force delete an unmerged branch:

git branch -D feature-login

⚠️ Warning: Force deleting a branch discards any unmerged work, so be careful.

Renaming Branches

To rename the branch you're currently on:

git branch -m new-branch-name

To rename a branch you're not currently on:

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

Moving Between Commits

Branches point to commits, but sometimes you want to directly check out a specific commit:

git checkout commit-hash

This puts you in a "detached HEAD" state, where you're not on any branch. This is useful for examining old versions of your code.

To create a new branch from this state:

git checkout -b new-branch-name

Temporary Commits with Stash

Sometimes you need to switch branches but aren't ready to commit your changes. Git's stash feature lets you temporarily save changes without committing:

git stash

To apply the most recent stash and remove it from the stash list:

git stash pop

To list all stashes:

git stash list

To apply a specific stash:

git stash apply stash@{2}

Stashes are useful for quickly switching context without creating unnecessary commits.

Best Practices for Branching

Keep branches focused: Each branch should represent a single feature or fix
Regularly merge from main: Update your feature branches with changes from main to reduce merge conflicts
Delete merged branches: Keep your repository clean by deleting branches after merging
Use descriptive names: Branch names should indicate what work is being done
Branch from the appropriate base: Create branches from the point where the change should start

With these branching basics, you're now equipped to work on multiple features in parallel without affecting your main codebase. In the next section, we'll explore how to merge branches and resolve conflicts.

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