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git-branch(1)                     Git Manual                     git-branch(1)


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. If this option is omitted, the name
           of the current branch will be used instead.

       <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

               $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
               $ cd my2.6
               $ git branch my2.6.14 v2.6.14   (1)
               $ git switch my2.6.14


           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

               $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/.../git.git my.git
               $ cd my.git
               $ git branch -d -r origin/todo origin/html origin/man   (1)
               $ git branch -D test                                    (2)


           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:

       o   --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>.

       o   --no-contains <commit> is the inverse of that, i.e. branches that
           don't contain the specified <commit>.

       o   --merged is used to find all branches which can be safely deleted,
           since those branches are fully contained by HEAD.

       o   --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.


SEE ALSO

       git-check-ref-format(1), git-fetch(1), git-remote(1), "Understanding
       history: What is a branch?"[1] in the Git User's Manual.


GIT

       Part of the git(1) suite


NOTES

        1. "Understanding history: What is a branch?"
           git-htmldocs/user-manual.html#what-is-a-branch

Git 2.44.0                        2024-02-22                     git-branch(1)

git 2.44.0 - Generated Sat Feb 24 11:13:45 CST 2024
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