Git Branches

Branches are like different pathways in your project where you can work on separate features or fixes without affecting the main project until you're ready. Imagine you're working on a User Management feature, but then you find a bug in production that needs to be fixed urgently. You can use branches to keep things organized while working on both tasks separately.

Example of branching in real life:

1. You start working on a new feature for user management.

2. Create a new branch for the feature, like this:

   
   git branch feat/ECS-12-user-management
   

3. Switch to that branch to work on your feature:

   
   git checkout feat/ECS-12-user-management
   

4. You commit your changes to the feature branch.

But then, you discover a bug in the production version of the website.

1. Switch back to the main (or master) branch:

   
   git checkout master
   

2. Create a new branch to fix the bug:

   
   git branch hotfix/user-profile-not-working
   

3. After fixing the bug and doing a code review, merge the bug fix branch back into the master branch:

   
   git checkout master
   git merge hotfix/user-profile-not-working
   

4. Now, you can switch back to your feature branch and continue working:

   
   git checkout feat/ECS-12-user-management
   

Listing Branches

You can list all local branches in your repository with:

git branch

A * will appear next to the branch you are currently working on.

To list all branches, including remote ones, you can use:

git branch -a

Creating a New Branch

To create a new branch, use the following command:

git branch <branch-name>

If you want to create the branch and switch to it right away, use the -b flag:

git checkout -b <branch-name>

Switching Between Branches

To switch to another branch, use the git checkout command:

git checkout <branch-name>

Deleting a Branch

Sometimes you need to clean up branches after you're done with them. To delete a branch locally, run:

git branch -D <branch-name>

If you also need to remove the branch from the remote repository, use:

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

By using branches, you can work on multiple features, fixes, or experiments without affecting the main project, keeping everything organized and safe!