main

Branch Workflow

Manage Git branches effectively with naming conventions and cleanup strategies.

When to Use

  • “create git branch”
  • “switch branches”
  • “delete branch”
  • “list branches”

Quick Commands

Creating Branches

# Create and switch to new branch
git checkout -b feature/user-auth

# Create branch without switching
git branch feature/user-auth

# Create from specific commit
git checkout -b bugfix/issue-123 abc1234

# New syntax (Git 2.23+)
git switch -c feature/user-auth

Switching Branches

# Switch to existing branch
git checkout main
git switch main  # Git 2.23+

# Switch to previous branch
git checkout -
git switch -

# Switch and create if doesn't exist
git checkout -b feature/new-feature

Listing Branches

# List local branches
git branch

# List all branches (local + remote)
git branch -a

# List with last commit
git branch -v

# List merged branches
git branch --merged

# List unmerged branches
git branch --no-merged

# List branches with pattern
git branch --list 'feature/*'

Branch Naming Conventions

Standard Format

<type>/<description>

Types

  • feature/ - New features
  • fix/ or bugfix/ - Bug fixes
  • hotfix/ - Urgent production fixes
  • chore/ - Maintenance tasks
  • docs/ - Documentation
  • refactor/ - Code refactoring
  • test/ - Test additions/fixes

Examples

git checkout -b feature/user-authentication
git checkout -b fix/null-pointer-login
git checkout -b hotfix/security-patch
git checkout -b chore/update-dependencies
git checkout -b docs/api-documentation
git checkout -b refactor/simplify-handlers

Deleting Branches

Local Branches

# Delete merged branch (safe)
git branch -d feature/completed

# Force delete (even if unmerged)
git branch -D feature/abandoned

# Delete multiple branches
git branch -d feature/old-1 feature/old-2

Remote Branches

# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete feature/old-branch

# Alternative syntax
git push origin :feature/old-branch

Bulk Cleanup

# Delete all merged local branches
git branch --merged | grep -v "\*\|main\|master" | xargs -n 1 git branch -d

# Delete all local branches except main/master
git branch | grep -v "main\|master" | xargs git branch -D

# Prune deleted remote branches
git fetch --prune
git remote prune origin

Remote Branch Tracking

Setting Upstream

# Push and set upstream
git push -u origin feature/new-feature

# Set upstream for existing branch
git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/feature/new-feature

# Short form
git branch -u origin/feature/new-feature

Tracking Info

# Show tracking branches
git branch -vv

# Check remote tracking
git remote show origin

Renaming Branches

Local Branch

# Rename current branch
git branch -m new-name

# Rename other branch
git branch -m old-name new-name

Remote Branch

# Rename local, delete old remote, push new
git branch -m old-name new-name
git push origin --delete old-name
git push -u origin new-name

Branch Management Strategies

Keep Branches Updated

# Update main before creating branch
git checkout main
git pull
git checkout -b feature/new-work

# Regularly sync with main
git fetch origin
git rebase origin/main

Clean Gone Branches

# List gone branches
git branch -vv | grep ': gone]'

# Delete all gone branches
git fetch --prune
git branch -vv | grep ': gone]' | awk '{print $1}' | xargs git branch -D

Best Practices

  1. Use descriptive names: feature/add-user-auth not feature/fix
  2. Keep branches short-lived: Merge or delete within days/weeks
  3. One concern per branch: Don’t mix features and fixes
  4. Update regularly: Rebase on main frequently
  5. Delete after merge: Clean up merged branches
  6. Use consistent naming: Follow team conventions
  7. Protect main/master: Use branch protection rules

Resources