Git Branches - How to Not Break Prod and Stay Alive

1. Create a New Branch and Switch to It#

Modern way (Git ≥ 2.23):

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git switch -c feature/signup

• switch is a modern, more readable alternative to checkout.
• -c means “create a new branch.”

Classic way (still valid):

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git checkout -b feature/signup

🧭 Tip: Use meaningful, kebab-case names with prefixes like: feature/signup, bugfix/fix-login, hotfix/crash-on-submit, release/v1.3.0

2. Do Some Work: Commit & Push#

Example:

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echo "Sign-up logic" > signup.js
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git add signup.js
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git commit -m "Add sign-up logic"
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git push -u origin feature/signup

• -u sets the upstream branch so future git push and git pull work without arguments.

📌 After this, you can simply use git push and git pull without specifying branch names.

3. See What Branch You’re In#

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git branch

• The current branch is marked with a *.

To create a branch without switching:

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git branch feature/experiment

📌 Quick jump back to the previous branch:

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git switch -

Super handy when jumping between main and a feature branch.

4. Switch Back to main and Update It#

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git switch main
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git pull --ff-only origin main

🧭 Important:

• Run this from the main branch.
• If you have local commits, Git will stop politely — preventing accidental overwrites.

5. Merge Your Branch into main#

Standard merge:

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git merge feature/signup

If main hasn’t changed since you branched off, Git performs a fast-forward — just moves the pointer.

Want to preserve a visible merge commit?

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git merge --no-ff feature/signup

🧭 Great for tracking feature branches in project history or pull requests.

6. Handling Merge Conflicts#

If Git reports a conflict:

1. Open the file and look for:

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   <<<<<<< HEAD
   2
   code from main
   3
   =======
   4
   code from your branch
   5
   >>>>>>> feature/signup
   

2. Manually fix the file.

3. Stage the resolved file:

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   git add filename
   

4. If a real merge happened (not fast-forward), finish with:

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   git commit
   

💡 If it was fast-forward, Git already did everything — no commit needed.

7. Delete the Branch#

Locally:

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git branch -d feature/signup

If the branch hasn’t been merged yet, use:

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git branch -D feature/signup

Remotely:

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git push origin --delete feature/signup

📌 An alternative is:

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git push origin :feature/signup

—but it’s less readable.

8. View Branch History Visually#

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git log --oneline --graph --decorate --all

This shows your full commit tree, across all branches — clean and visual.

Best Practices (And Why They Matter)#

• One branch per task
  Keeps changes isolated, focused, and easy to review.

• Use clear, consistent naming
  Prefixes like feature/, fix/, release/ help.
  Use lowercase + hyphens: feature/add-login.

• Use pull requests
  Code reviews, CI checks, and visibility improve code quality.

• Avoid --force — use --force-with-lease
  Don’t overwrite others’ work by mistake.

• Clean up your branches
  Remove them when they’re done — both locally and on remote.

• Only rebase private branches
  Never rewrite history others rely on.