Branches

A branch is a pointer to a specific commit. Creating a branch is fast and cheap in Git.

The default branch is usually called main (formerly master).

Branching Workflow

Create a branch for a feature or bug fix
Make commits on that branch
Merge the branch back into main when done

Fast-forward vs 3-way Merge

Fast-forward: If main hasn't changed, Git just moves the pointer forward
3-way merge: Creates a new merge commit combining two diverged histories

Merge Conflicts

When two branches change the same lines, Git can't auto-merge — you must resolve conflicts manually.

Example

bash

# List all branches
git branch        # local branches
git branch -a     # all branches including remote

# Create and switch to a new branch
git checkout -b feature/user-auth
# Modern syntax (Git 2.23+):
git switch -c feature/user-auth

# Switch branches
git checkout main
git switch main

# Make commits on the feature branch
git add .
git commit -m "Add login form component"
git commit -m "Add authentication API calls"

# Merge feature branch into main
git switch main
git merge feature/user-auth

# Delete merged branch
git branch -d feature/user-auth

# Resolving merge conflicts:
# 1. Git marks conflicts in files with <<<<<<, =======, >>>>>>>
# 2. Edit the file to resolve
# 3. git add the resolved file
# 4. git commit to complete the merge

# Rebase (alternative to merge - cleaner history)
git switch feature/my-feature
git rebase main  # replay commits on top of main

# Interactive rebase (cleanup commits)
git rebase -i HEAD~3  # squash/edit last 3 commits

Try it yourself — BASH