Creating branches with git branch - Step-by-Step CLI Walkthrough

Introduction

When working on a project, you often want to try new ideas without changing the main work. Creating branches lets you do this by making a separate copy of your project to work on safely.

When you want to add a new feature without affecting the main code.

When you need to fix a bug but keep the fix separate until it's tested.

When you want to experiment with changes without risking the main project.

When collaborating with others and each person works on their own branch.

When preparing a version of the project for release while continuing development.

Commands

This command creates a new branch named 'feature-login' to work on a login feature separately.

Terminal

git branch feature-login

Expected Output

No output (command runs silently)

This command lists all branches in the repository, showing the current branch with a star.

Terminal

git branch

Expected Output

  main

* feature-login

This switches your working area to the 'feature-login' branch so you can start working there.

Terminal

git checkout feature-login

Expected Output

Switched to branch 'feature-login'

This deletes the 'feature-login' branch after you finish or decide not to use it anymore.

Terminal

git branch -d feature-login

Expected Output

Deleted branch feature-login (was abc1234).

→

-d - Deletes a branch safely if it has been merged.

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: branches let you work on changes separately without affecting the main project.

Common Mistakes

Creating a branch but not switching to it before making changes.

Your changes will still go to the current branch, not the new one.

After creating a branch, use 'git checkout branch-name' to switch to it before editing.

Deleting a branch that has unmerged changes with 'git branch -d'.

Git will refuse to delete it to prevent losing work.

Use 'git branch -D branch-name' to force delete, but only if you are sure you want to lose those changes.

Summary

Use 'git branch branch-name' to create a new branch.

Use 'git branch' to list all branches and see which one is active.

Use 'git checkout branch-name' to switch to the new branch and start working.

Use 'git branch -d branch-name' to delete a branch safely after merging.