Listing branches in Git - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What is the output of 'git branch' after creating two branches?

You have a Git repository with the default branch named main. You run these commands:

git branch feature1
git branch feature2

Then you run git branch. What is the output?

Git

git branch feature1
git branch feature2
git branch

A

  main
  feature1
  feature2

B

* feature1
  feature2
  main

C

* main
* feature1
* feature2

D

  feature1
  feature2
* main

💡 Hint

The asterisk (*) marks the current branch.

The git branch command lists all branches. The current branch is marked with an asterisk (*). Since you did not switch branches, main is current.

💻 Command Output

intermediate

What does 'git branch -r' show?

You cloned a repository and run git branch -r. What does this command list?

Git

git branch -r

A Lists all remote-tracking branches

B Lists all local branches

C Lists all branches including local and remote

D Lists all tags in the repository

💡 Hint

Remote branches are branches on the server you cloned from.

The -r option shows remote-tracking branches, which represent branches on the remote repository.

❓ Configuration

advanced

How to list branches sorted by last commit date?

You want to list all local branches sorted by the date of their last commit, most recent first. Which command achieves this?

A git branch --sort=-committerdate

B git branch --sort=authorname

C git branch --sort=refname

D git branch --sort=-authordate

💡 Hint

The --sort option can sort by commit dates; the minus sign reverses order.

The --sort=-committerdate option sorts branches by the committer date descending (most recent first).

❓ Troubleshoot

advanced

Why does 'git branch' show no branches after cloning?

You cloned a remote repository with git clone https://example.com/repo.git. Then you run git branch and see no output. Why?

A The repository has no branches on the remote

B You cloned with --bare option, so no local branches exist

C You are in a detached HEAD state after cloning

D You need to run 'git fetch' to get branches

💡 Hint

Bare repositories do not have working copies or local branches.

Cloning with the --bare option creates a repository without a working directory and no local branches, so git branch shows nothing.

✅ Best Practice

expert

Which command safely lists all branches including remote and local with verbose info?

You want to see all branches, local and remote, with last commit info, in a single command. Which is the best command?

A git branch -r -v

B git branch --all --sort=-committerdate

C git branch -a -v

D git branch -v --merged

💡 Hint

The -a option shows all branches, -v adds commit info.

The command git branch -a -v lists all branches (local and remote) with the last commit info.