Git Branches, Log, and Merge

This document covers standard branch operations for daily Git usage including: reading the commit log, listing branches, creating and switching branches, pushing to remote, pulling remote branches locally, and merging a feature branch into main.

Quick reference

# log
git log --oneline -20
git log --oneline --graph --all

# branches
git branch
git branch -a
git fetch origin

# create, switch, push
git switch -c feature-branch
git push -u origin feature-branch

# pull remote branch
git fetch origin
git switch -c feature-branch --track origin/feature-branch

# merge to main
git switch main
git pull origin main
git merge feature-branch
git push origin main

# delete branches
git branch -d feature-branch
git branch -D feature-branch
git push origin --delete feature-branch

# prune stale remote-tracking refs
git branch -r
git ls-remote --heads origin
git fetch origin --prune
git remote prune origin
git config --global fetch.prune true

View commit log

The log shows commit history for the current branch. The oneline format keeps it scannable.

# last 20 commits, one line each
git log --oneline -20

# full detail on last 5
git log -5

# all branches as a graph
git log --oneline --graph --all

List branches

Local branches are shown by default. Use -a to include remote branches. Fetch first to make sure the remote list is current.

git branch                # local only
git branch -a             # local + remote
git branch --show-current # active branch
git fetch origin          # update remote refs

Create a new branch and push

Create a branch from the current HEAD, switch to it, and push with upstream tracking so future pushes need no arguments.

git switch -c feature-branch
git push -u origin feature-branch

Pull a remote branch locally

When a branch exists on the remote but not locally, fetch first then create it with tracking.

git fetch origin
git switch -c feature-branch --track origin/feature-branch

Switch between branches

Use switch to move between existing local branches. Working tree must be clean or changes will block the switch.

git switch main
git switch feature-branch

Merge a branch into main

Switch to main, pull the latest, merge the feature branch, push, and clean up. This assumes no conflicts.

git switch main
git pull origin main
git merge feature-branch
git push origin main

Delete merged branch

After a successful merge, remove the branch locally. Delete the remote branch separately only when the branch should also be removed from the remote repository.

# check current local branches
git branch

# delete local after merge
git branch -d feature-branch

# force delete local even if Git does not see it as merged
git branch -D feature-branch

# delete the real branch from the remote repository
git push origin --delete feature-branch

git branch -d deletes a local branch only when Git considers it merged.
git branch -D force-deletes a local branch. Use it only when you are sure the work is no longer needed.
git push origin --delete branch_name deletes the branch from the remote repository, not just from your local branch list.

Prune stale remote branches

Remote-tracking branches such as origin/old-feature can remain in your local repo after the real remote branch is deleted. Check what your local repo remembers, compare it with the remote, then prune stale origin/* references.

# check current remote-tracking branches remembered locally
git branch -r

# check which branches actually exist on the remote
git ls-remote --heads origin

# remove stale origin/* references that no longer exist on GitHub
git fetch origin --prune

# alternative direct prune command for the origin remote
git remote prune origin

# check again after cleanup
git branch -r

git fetch origin --prune is usually the most useful command because it updates from origin and prunes stale remote-tracking refs in one step. git remote prune origin only prunes stale refs for origin.

git fetch origin --prune

# Expected output when stale remote-tracking branches are removed:
# From github.com:example-user/example-repo
#  - [deleted]         (none)     -> origin/old-feature-branch
#  - [deleted]         (none)     -> origin/old-cleanup-branch
#  - [deleted]         (none)     -> origin/old-test-branch

Make pruning automatic if you want future fetches to clean stale remote-tracking branches by default.

git config --global fetch.prune true

Do not use git fetch -r. The fetch command does not use -r as a prune shortcut.

git fetch -r

# Expected error:
# error: unknown switch `r`
# usage: git fetch [<options>] [<repository> [<refspec>...]]

Confirm remote branch list

List remote-tracking branches after pruning. This should only show branches that still exist on the remote.

git branch -r

# Expected output:
#   origin/HEAD -> origin/main
#   origin/active-feature-branch
#   origin/main