branching

creating, switching, and deleting branches

branching

git checkout -b feature/my-thing

creates a new branch and switches to it in one step. the classic.

git branch

lists all local branches. git branch -a includes remotes too.

git branch -d feature/my-thing

deletes a branch. use -D if git complains that it's not fully merged and you're sure you want it gone.

git switch feature/my-thing

newer way to switch branches. git switch -c feature/my-thing creates and switches, same as checkout -b. either works, switch is just cleaner.

the golden rule

never commit directly to main. always branch first, do your work, then PR.

# wrong — don't do this
git checkout main
git add .
git commit -m "my feature"
 
# right
git checkout -b feat/my-thing
git add .
git commit -m "my feature"
git push origin feat/my-thing
# then open PR

if you accidentally commit to main locally, branch off before pushing:

git checkout -b feat/my-thing  # branch from current state
git checkout main
git reset --hard origin/main   # reset main back to remote

your commits are now safely on the feature branch, main is clean.