Branch Management

Branching is the core concept that makes Git such a powerful tool for collaboration and development. A branch is essentially an independent line of development that moves forward while the main project remains stable.

1. What is a Branch?

A branch is a lightweight, movable pointer to one of your commits. When you create a branch, Git simply creates a new pointer that refers to the same commit the current branch is pointing to. [Image illustrating a main commit history line with a separate, new branch pointer diverging from the main line]

• Master/Main Branch: The primary, stable line of development (often called main or master). Commits here should represent releases or highly stable versions.
• Feature Branches: Branches created for isolated work (e.g., feature/login-page, bugfix/auth-issue). This allows developers to work without interfering with the main code base.

2. Basic Branch Commands

Execution Examples

To list all local branches:

git branch

3. Creating and Switching Branches

When starting a new feature or bug fix, you should always create a new branch from a stable point (usually main).

Creating a New Branch

To create a new branch named new-feature but remain on your current branch (main):

git branch new-feature

Switching Branches (git checkout or git switch)

To switch your working directory and history pointer to the new branch:

# Old (still works)
git checkout new-feature

# New (recommended for clarity)
git switch new-feature

Creating and Switching Simultaneously

The -b flag with git checkout is the most common shortcut for creating a new branch and switching to it in one step.

git checkout -b new-feature

4. Making a Commit on a Branch

Once you are on a new branch (e.g., new-feature), all subsequent commits you make will only move the new-feature pointer forward. The main branch pointer remains where it was, preserving its history.

Example Workflow

1. Create and switch to the new branch.
   
   git checkout -b new-styling
   
2. Make file changes (e.g., modify style.css).
3. Stage and commit the changes.
   
   git add . git commit -m "Implement new color palette in CSS"
   
4. The new-styling branch now points to this new commit. The main branch is unaffected.