$ git branch <name of the branch> # e.g. git branch dev1
$ git checkout <name of the branch> # e.g. git checkout dev1
You can do the above 2 steps in a single line
$ git checkout -b <name of the branch> # e.g. git checkout -b dev1
Delete a branch
$ git branch -d <name of the branch> # e.g. git branch -d dev1
Delete a branch locally and remotely
Locally
Two options to delete a local branch
Option 1:
$ git checkout main # first switch to main branch from the branch you want to delete
$ git branch -d <name of the branch to delete>
Option 2:
If you get run into an error such as the following
error: The branch 'feature' is not fully merged. If you are sure you want to delete it, run 'git branch -D feature'.
then do
$ git checkout main
$ git branch -D <name of the branch to delete>
Please note, the above command will discard all the unmerged changes
Remotely
To delete remote branch
$ git push origin -d <name of the branch to delete>
Merging two branches:
$ git checkout main # first switch to the main/master (production) branch
$ git merge <name of the branch> # e.g. git merge dev1
View local and remote branches
To view all local and remote branches
$ git branch -a
To view only remote branches
$ git branch -r
Pull remote branches to local repo
Let's say we have "dev2" branch on our remote repo, but not locally. We can pull this branch locally and start working on it
$ git checkout dev2 # this will create a new branch called dev2 locally, which is in sync with the remote branch with the same name
$ git pull # this will make sure that all the code from that remote branch is now pulled locally
Set up default branch as main/master
$ git push --set-upstream origin main # sets up default remote branch as main
