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This article introduces Git branches. We will see how Git branches can help you organize your projects.

Some of the commands we will deal with are git branchand git checkout.

git branchUse commands to create, display, and delete branches in Git

We use git branchcommands to create, display, and delete branches.

You cannot use this command to switch between different branches.

1. git branchShows all branches in your repository.
2. git branch <branch name>Create a new branch in our repository <branch name>.
3. git branch -d <branch name>Delete the branch <branch name>. Merge changes before running this command.
4. git branch -D <branch name>Delete a branch without exception. Use this command when you are sure about the decision.
5. git branch -m <branch name>Rename or move a branch.

Let's create a New_Branchnew branch called .

pc@JOHN MINGW64 ~/Git (main)
$ git branch New_Branch

Check if the branch exists.

pc@JOHN MINGW64 ~/Git (main)
$ git branch
  New_Branch
* main

We have two branches from the above output, New_Branchand main.

Now let's try to delete New_Branch.

pc@JOHN MINGW64 ~/Git (main)
$ git branch -d New_Branch
Deleted branch New_Branch (was 78129a6).

When you have unmerged changes, you will get an error message. Use to git push origin --delete <branch name>delete the branch from the remote repository.

git checkout -b <branch>Create a new branch with the current Git changes using

git checkoutCommands switch between branches of a project.

To check out an existing branch in a repository, use git checkout <branch>. Below is an example.

$ git branch
  Last_Branch
  New_Branch
* main
pc@JOHN MINGW64 ~/Git (main)
$ git checkout New_Branch
Switched to branch 'New_Branch'
M       .bash_history
M       text.txt.txt
M       text.txt.txt.bak

In the code above, we have two branches, New_Branchand Last_Branch. We use to switch to git checkout New_Branchfrom our branch .mainNew_Branch

Use git checkout -b <branch>to switch to a new branch. Let's look at an example.

pc@JOHN MINGW64 ~/Git (New_Branch)
$ git checkout -b Branch1
Switched to a new branch 'Branch1'

When you switch to a new branch, Git automatically saves your changes from the current branch to the new branch. Take a look at this.

pc@JOHN MINGW64 ~/Git (Branch1)
$ git status
On branch Branch1
Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git restore <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
        modified:   .bash_history
        modified:   text.txt.txt
        modified:   text.txt.txt.bak
Untracked files:
  (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
        .bash_history.bak
no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")

The above output proves that Git saved the changes from mainbranch to Branch1.