NAME¶
git-branch - List, create, or delete branches
SYNOPSIS¶
git branch [--color[=<when>] | --no-color] [--show-current]
[-v [--abbrev=<n> | --no-abbrev]]
[--column[=<options>] | --no-column] [--sort=<key>]
[--merged [<commit>]] [--no-merged [<commit>]]
[--contains [<commit>]] [--no-contains [<commit>]]
[--points-at <object>] [--format=<format>]
[(-r | --remotes) | (-a | --all)]
[--list] [<pattern>...]
git branch [--track[=(direct|inherit)] | --no-track] [-f]
[--recurse-submodules] <branchname> [<start-point>]
git branch (--set-upstream-to=<upstream> | -u <upstream>) [<branchname>]
git branch --unset-upstream [<branchname>]
git branch (-m | -M) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
git branch (-c | -C) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
git branch (-d | -D) [-r] <branchname>...
git branch --edit-description [<branchname>]
DESCRIPTION¶
If --list is given, or if there are no non-option
arguments, existing branches are listed; the current branch will be
highlighted in green and marked with an asterisk. Any branches checked out
in linked worktrees will be highlighted in cyan and marked with a plus sign.
Option -r causes the remote-tracking branches to be listed, and
option -a shows both local and remote branches.
If a <pattern> is given, it is used as a shell
wildcard to restrict the output to matching branches. If multiple patterns
are given, a branch is shown if it matches any of the patterns.
Note that when providing a <pattern>, you must use
--list; otherwise the command may be interpreted as branch
creation.
With --contains, shows only the branches that contain the
named commit (in other words, the branches whose tip commits are descendants
of the named commit), --no-contains inverts it. With --merged,
only branches merged into the named commit (i.e. the branches whose tip
commits are reachable from the named commit) will be listed. With
--no-merged only branches not merged into the named commit will be
listed. If the <commit> argument is missing it defaults to HEAD
(i.e. the tip of the current branch).
The command’s second form creates a new branch head named
<branchname> which points to the current HEAD, or
<start-point> if given. As a special case, for <start-point>,
you may use "A...B" as a shortcut for the merge base of
A and B if there is exactly one merge base. You can leave out
at most one of A and B, in which case it defaults to
HEAD.
Note that this will create the new branch, but it will not switch
the working tree to it; use "git switch <newbranch>" to
switch to the new branch.
When a local branch is started off a remote-tracking branch, Git
sets up the branch (specifically the branch.<name>.remote and
branch.<name>.merge configuration entries) so that git
pull will appropriately merge from the remote-tracking branch. This
behavior may be changed via the global branch.autoSetupMerge
configuration flag. That setting can be overridden by using the
--track and --no-track options, and changed later using git
branch --set-upstream-to.
With a -m or -M option, <oldbranch> will be
renamed to <newbranch>. If <oldbranch> had a corresponding
reflog, it is renamed to match <newbranch>, and a reflog entry is
created to remember the branch renaming. If <newbranch> exists, -M
must be used to force the rename to happen.
The -c and -C options have the exact same semantics
as -m and -M, except instead of the branch being renamed, it
will be copied to a new name, along with its config and reflog.
With a -d or -D option, <branchname>
will be deleted. You may specify more than one branch for deletion. If the
branch currently has a reflog then the reflog will also be deleted.
Use -r together with -d to delete remote-tracking
branches. Note, that it only makes sense to delete remote-tracking branches
if they no longer exist in the remote repository or if git fetch was
configured not to fetch them again. See also the prune subcommand of
git-remote(1) for a way to clean up all obsolete remote-tracking
branches.
OPTIONS¶
-d, --delete
Delete a branch. The branch must be fully merged in its
upstream branch, or in HEAD if no upstream was set with --track
or --set-upstream-to.
-D
Shortcut for --delete --force.
--create-reflog
Create the branch’s reflog. This activates
recording of all changes made to the branch ref, enabling use of date based
sha1 expressions such as "<branchname>@{yesterday}". Note that
in non-bare repositories, reflogs are usually enabled by default by the
core.logAllRefUpdates config option. The negated form
--no-create-reflog only overrides an earlier --create-reflog,
but currently does not negate the setting of
core.logAllRefUpdates.
-f, --force
Reset <branchname> to <start-point>, even if
<branchname> exists already. Without
-f,
git branch
refuses to change an existing branch. In combination with
-d (or
--delete), allow deleting the branch irrespective of its merged status,
or whether it even points to a valid commit. In combination with
-m (or
--move), allow renaming the branch even if the new branch name already
exists, the same applies for
-c (or
--copy).
Note that git branch -f <branchname>
[<start-point>], even with -f, refuses to change an
existing branch <branchname> that is checked out in another
worktree linked to the same repository.
-m, --move
Move/rename a branch, together with its config and
reflog.
-M
Shortcut for --move --force.
-c, --copy
Copy a branch, together with its config and reflog.
-C
Shortcut for --copy --force.
--color[=<when>]
Color branches to highlight current, local, and
remote-tracking branches. The value must be always (the default), never, or
auto.
--no-color
Turn off branch colors, even when the configuration file
gives the default to color output. Same as --color=never.
-i, --ignore-case
Sorting and filtering branches are case
insensitive.
--omit-empty
Do not print a newline after formatted refs where the
format expands to the empty string.
--column[=<options>], --no-column
Display branch listing in columns. See configuration
variable
column.branch for option syntax.
--column and
--no-column without options are equivalent to
always and
never respectively.
This option is only applicable in non-verbose mode.
-r, --remotes
List or delete (if used with -d) the remote-tracking
branches. Combine with --list to match the optional pattern(s).
-a, --all
List both remote-tracking branches and local branches.
Combine with --list to match optional pattern(s).
-l, --list
List branches. With optional <pattern>...,
e.g. git branch --list 'maint-*', list only the branches that match the
pattern(s).
--show-current
Print the name of the current branch. In detached HEAD
state, nothing is printed.
-v, -vv, --verbose
When in list mode, show sha1 and commit subject line for
each head, along with relationship to upstream branch (if any). If given
twice, print the path of the linked worktree (if any) and the name of the
upstream branch, as well (see also git remote show <remote>).
Note that the current worktree’s HEAD will not have its path printed
(it will always be your current directory).
-q, --quiet
Be more quiet when creating or deleting a branch,
suppressing non-error messages.
--abbrev=<n>
In the verbose listing that show the commit object name,
show the shortest prefix that is at least <n> hexdigits long that
uniquely refers the object. The default value is 7 and can be overridden by
the core.abbrev config option.
--no-abbrev
Display the full sha1s in the output listing rather than
abbreviating them.
-t, --track[=(direct|inherit)]
When creating a new branch, set up
branch.<name>.remote and
branch.<name>.merge
configuration entries to set "upstream" tracking configuration for
the new branch. This configuration will tell git to show the relationship
between the two branches in
git status and
git branch -v.
Furthermore, it directs
git pull without arguments to pull from the
upstream when the new branch is checked out.
The exact upstream branch is chosen depending on the optional
argument: -t, --track, or --track=direct means to use
the start-point branch itself as the upstream; --track=inherit means
to copy the upstream configuration of the start-point branch.
The branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable specifies how
git switch, git checkout and git branch should behave
when neither --track nor --no-track are specified:
The default option, true, behaves as though
--track=direct were given whenever the start-point is a
remote-tracking branch. false behaves as if --no-track were
given. always behaves as though --track=direct were given.
inherit behaves as though --track=inherit were given.
simple behaves as though --track=direct were given only when
the start-point is a remote-tracking branch and the new branch has the same
name as the remote branch.
See git-pull(1) and git-config(1) for additional
discussion on how the branch.<name>.remote and
branch.<name>.merge options are used.
--no-track
Do not set up "upstream" configuration, even if
the branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable is set.
--recurse-submodules
THIS OPTION IS EXPERIMENTAL! Causes the current command
to recurse into submodules if
submodule.propagateBranches is enabled.
See
submodule.propagateBranches in
git-config(1). Currently,
only branch creation is supported.
When used in branch creation, a new branch <branchname> will
be created in the superproject and all of the submodules in the
superproject’s <start-point>. In submodules, the branch will
point to the submodule commit in the superproject’s
<start-point> but the branch’s tracking information will be set
up based on the submodule’s branches and remotes e.g. git branch
--recurse-submodules topic origin/main will create the submodule branch
"topic" that points to the submodule commit in the
superproject’s "origin/main", but tracks the
submodule’s "origin/main".
--set-upstream
As this option had confusing syntax, it is no longer
supported. Please use --track or --set-upstream-to
instead.
-u <upstream>, --set-upstream-to=<upstream>
Set up <branchname>'s tracking information so
<upstream> is considered <branchname>'s upstream branch. If no
<branchname> is specified, then it defaults to the current branch.
--unset-upstream
Remove the upstream information for <branchname>.
If no branch is specified it defaults to the current branch.
--edit-description
Open an editor and edit the text to explain what the
branch is for, to be used by various other commands (e.g. format-patch,
request-pull, and merge (if enabled)). Multi-line explanations
may be used.
--contains [<commit>]
Only list branches which contain the specified commit
(HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.
--no-contains [<commit>]
Only list branches which don’t contain the
specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.
--merged [<commit>]
Only list branches whose tips are reachable from the
specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.
--no-merged [<commit>]
Only list branches whose tips are not reachable from the
specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.
<branchname>
The name of the branch to create or delete. The new
branch name must pass all checks defined by
git-check-ref-format(1).
Some of these checks may restrict the characters allowed in a branch
name.
<start-point>
The new branch head will point to this commit. It may be
given as a branch name, a commit-id, or a tag. If this option is omitted, the
current HEAD will be used instead.
<oldbranch>
The name of an existing branch to rename.
<newbranch>
The new name for an existing branch. The same
restrictions as for <branchname> apply.
--sort=<key>
Sort based on the key given. Prefix
- to sort in
descending order of the value. You may use the --sort=<key> option
multiple times, in which case the last key becomes the primary key. The keys
supported are the same as those in
git for-each-ref. Sort order
defaults to the value configured for the
branch.sort variable if it
exists, or to sorting based on the full refname (including
refs/...
prefix). This lists detached HEAD (if present) first, then local branches and
finally remote-tracking branches. See
git-config(1).
--points-at <object>
Only list branches of the given object.
--format <format>
A string that interpolates
%(fieldname) from a
branch ref being shown and the object it points at. The format is the same as
that of
git-for-each-ref(1).
CONFIGURATION¶
pager.branch is only respected when listing branches, i.e.,
when --list is used or implied. The default is to use a pager. See
git-config(1).
Everything above this line in this section isn’t included
from the git-config(1) documentation. The content that follows is the
same as what’s found there:
branch.autoSetupMerge
Tells
git branch,
git switch and
git
checkout to set up new branches so that
git-pull(1) will
appropriately merge from the starting point branch. Note that even if this
option is not set, this behavior can be chosen per-branch using the
--track and
--no-track options. The valid settings are:
false — no automatic setup is done;
true —
automatic setup is done when the starting point is a remote-tracking branch;
always — automatic setup is done when the starting point is
either a local branch or remote-tracking branch;
inherit — if
the starting point has a tracking configuration, it is copied to the new
branch;
simple — automatic setup is done only when the starting
point is a remote-tracking branch and the new branch has the same name as the
remote branch. This option defaults to true.
branch.autoSetupRebase
When a new branch is created with git branch,
git switch or git checkout that tracks another branch, this
variable tells Git to set up pull to rebase instead of merge (see
"branch.<name>.rebase"). When never, rebase is never
automatically set to true. When local, rebase is set to true for
tracked branches of other local branches. When remote, rebase is set to
true for tracked branches of remote-tracking branches. When always,
rebase will be set to true for all tracking branches. See
"branch.autoSetupMerge" for details on how to set up a branch to
track another branch. This option defaults to never.
branch.sort
This variable controls the sort ordering of branches when
displayed by
git-branch(1). Without the
"--sort=<value>" option provided, the value of this variable
will be used as the default. See
git-for-each-ref(1) field names for
valid values.
branch.<name>.remote
When on branch <name>, it tells git fetch
and git push which remote to fetch from or push to. The remote to push
to may be overridden with remote.pushDefault (for all branches). The
remote to push to, for the current branch, may be further overridden by
branch.<name>.pushRemote. If no remote is configured, or if you
are not on any branch and there is more than one remote defined in the
repository, it defaults to origin for fetching and
remote.pushDefault for pushing. Additionally, . (a period) is
the current local repository (a dot-repository), see
branch.<name>.merge's final note below.
branch.<name>.pushRemote
When on branch <name>, it overrides
branch.<name>.remote for pushing. It also overrides
remote.pushDefault for pushing from branch <name>. When you pull
from one place (e.g. your upstream) and push to another place (e.g. your own
publishing repository), you would want to set remote.pushDefault to
specify the remote to push to for all branches, and use this option to
override it for a specific branch.
branch.<name>.merge
Defines, together with branch.<name>.remote, the
upstream branch for the given branch. It tells git fetch/git
pull/git rebase which branch to merge and can also affect git
push (see push.default). When in branch <name>, it tells git
fetch the default refspec to be marked for merging in FETCH_HEAD. The
value is handled like the remote part of a refspec, and must match a ref which
is fetched from the remote given by "branch.<name>.remote".
The merge information is used by git pull (which first calls git
fetch) to lookup the default branch for merging. Without this option,
git pull defaults to merge the first refspec fetched. Specify multiple
values to get an octopus merge. If you wish to setup git pull so that
it merges into <name> from another branch in the local repository, you
can point branch.<name>.merge to the desired branch, and use the
relative path setting . (a period) for
branch.<name>.remote.
branch.<name>.mergeOptions
Sets default options for merging into branch
<name>. The syntax and supported options are the same as those of
git-merge(1), but option values containing whitespace characters are
currently not supported.
branch.<name>.rebase
When true, rebase the branch <name> on top of the
fetched branch, instead of merging the default branch from the default remote
when "git pull" is run. See "pull.rebase" for doing this
in a non branch-specific manner.
When merges (or just m), pass the
--rebase-merges option to git rebase so that the local merge
commits are included in the rebase (see git-rebase(1) for
details).
When the value is interactive (or just i), the
rebase is run in interactive mode.
NOTE: this is a possibly dangerous operation; do not
use it unless you understand the implications (see git-rebase(1) for
details).
branch.<name>.description
Branch description, can be edited with git branch
--edit-description. Branch description is automatically added to the
format-patch cover letter or request-pull summary.
EXAMPLES¶
Start development from a known tag
| 1. |
This step and the next one could be combined into a single step with
"checkout -b my2.6.14 v2.6.14". |
Delete an unneeded branch
| 1. |
Delete the remote-tracking branches "todo", "html"
and "man". The next fetch or pull will create them
again unless you configure them not to. See git-fetch(1). |
| 2. |
Delete the "test" branch even if the "master" branch
(or whichever branch is currently checked out) does not have all commits
from the test branch. |
Listing branches from a specific remote
$ git branch -r -l '<remote>/<pattern>' (1)
$ git for-each-ref 'refs/remotes/<remote>/<pattern>' (2)
| 1. |
Using -a would conflate <remote> with any local branches
you happen to have been prefixed with the same <remote>
pattern. |
| 2. |
for-each-ref can take a wide range of options. See
git-for-each-ref(1) |
Patterns will normally need quoting.
NOTES¶
If you are creating a branch that you want to switch to
immediately, it is easier to use the "git switch" command with its
-c option to do the same thing with a single command.
The options --contains, --no-contains,
--merged and --no-merged serve four related but different
purposes:
•--contains <commit> is used to find
all branches which will need special attention if <commit> were to be
rebased or amended, since those branches contain the specified
<commit>.
•--no-contains <commit> is the
inverse of that, i.e. branches that don’t contain the specified
<commit>.
•--merged is used to find all branches
which can be safely deleted, since those branches are fully contained by
HEAD.
•--no-merged is used to find branches which
are candidates for merging into HEAD, since those branches are not fully
contained by HEAD.
When combining multiple --contains and --no-contains
filters, only references that contain at least one of the --contains
commits and contain none of the --no-contains commits are shown.
When combining multiple --merged and --no-merged
filters, only references that are reachable from at least one of the
--merged commits and from none of the --no-merged commits are
shown.
NOTES¶
- 1.
- “Understanding history: What is a branch?”