Deleting branches in Git - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Output of deleting a local branch

What is the output of the command git branch -d feature1 if the branch feature1 has been fully merged into main?

Git

git branch -d feature1

A Deleted branch feature1 (was abc1234).

B error: The branch 'feature1' is not fully merged.

C fatal: branch 'feature1' not found.

D warning: branch 'feature1' is currently checked out.

💡 Hint

Deleting a branch that is fully merged succeeds with a confirmation message.

The -d option deletes a local branch only if it is fully merged. The output confirms deletion with the branch name and commit hash.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Error when deleting unmerged local branch

What error message appears when running git branch -d feature2 if feature2 has unmerged changes?

Git

git branch -d feature2

A Deleted branch feature2 (was def5678).

B error: The branch 'feature2' is not fully merged.

C fatal: branch 'feature2' not found.

D warning: branch 'feature2' is currently checked out.

💡 Hint

The -d option refuses to delete branches with unmerged changes.

Git prevents deleting branches with unmerged changes using -d to avoid data loss. It shows an error message.

💻 Command Output

advanced

Deleting a remote branch output

What is the output of the command git push origin --delete feature3 when the remote branch feature3 exists and is deleted successfully?

Git

git push origin --delete feature3

A fatal: unable to delete branch feature3

B error: remote ref does not exist

C

To origin
 - [deleted]         feature3

D warning: branch 'feature3' is currently checked out.

💡 Hint

Successful remote deletion shows the branch name with [deleted].

The output confirms deletion on the remote with the branch name and [deleted] marker.

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Troubleshooting remote branch deletion failure

You run git push origin --delete feature4 but get the error error: unable to delete 'feature4': remote ref does not exist. What is the most likely cause?

A The branch 'feature4' does not exist on the remote repository.

B You do not have permission to delete branches on the remote.

C The local branch 'feature4' is currently checked out.

D The remote repository is unreachable due to network issues.

💡 Hint

The error says the remote ref does not exist.

This error means the branch name is not found on the remote. It may have been deleted already or never pushed.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Best practice for safely deleting branches

Which option describes the safest practice to delete a local branch that might have unmerged work?

A Use <code>git branch -D branch_name</code> to force delete without checking merge status.

B Delete the branch directly on the remote without checking local branches.

C Rename the branch instead of deleting to keep history.

D Use <code>git branch -d branch_name</code> and verify merge status before deleting.

💡 Hint

Safe deletion avoids losing unmerged work.

Using -d checks if the branch is merged and prevents accidental data loss. Force deleting with -D can lose work.