Branches

Branches let you work on different features or fixes in parallel without affecting the main codebase.

What is a Branch?

A branch is an independent line of development. The default branch is usually called main (or master). You create new branches to work on features, then merge them back.

Viewing Branches

# List all local branches
git branch

# List all branches (including remote)
git branch -a

Creating a Branch

# Create a new branch
git branch feature-navbar

# Create and switch to it immediately
git checkout -b feature-navbar

# Modern syntax
git switch -c feature-navbar

Switching Branches

git checkout main
git checkout feature-navbar

# Modern syntax
git switch main
git switch feature-navbar

Deleting a Branch

# Delete a merged branch
git branch -d feature-navbar

# Force delete an unmerged branch
git branch -D feature-navbar

Typical Workflow

# 1. Start on main
git switch main

# 2. Create a feature branch
git switch -c add-contact-page

# 3. Work and commit on the feature branch
git add .
git commit -m "Add contact page layout"
git commit -m "Add contact form validation"

# 4. Switch back to main
git switch main

# 5. Merge the feature
git merge add-contact-page

# 6. Delete the feature branch
git branch -d add-contact-page

Branch Naming Conventions

feature/user-auth
bugfix/login-error
hotfix/security-patch
release/v2.0