1GIT-BRANCH(1) Git Manual GIT-BRANCH(1)
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6 git-branch - List, create, or delete branches
7
9 git branch [--color[=<when>] | --no-color] [--show-current]
10 [-v [--abbrev=<n> | --no-abbrev]]
11 [--column[=<options>] | --no-column] [--sort=<key>]
12 [--merged [<commit>]] [--no-merged [<commit>]]
13 [--contains [<commit>]] [--no-contains [<commit>]]
14 [--points-at <object>] [--format=<format>]
15 [(-r | --remotes) | (-a | --all)]
16 [--list] [<pattern>...]
17 git branch [--track | --no-track] [-f] <branchname> [<start-point>]
18 git branch (--set-upstream-to=<upstream> | -u <upstream>) [<branchname>]
19 git branch --unset-upstream [<branchname>]
20 git branch (-m | -M) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
21 git branch (-c | -C) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
22 git branch (-d | -D) [-r] <branchname>...
23 git branch --edit-description [<branchname>]
24
26 If --list is given, or if there are no non-option arguments, existing
27 branches are listed; the current branch will be highlighted in green
28 and marked with an asterisk. Any branches checked out in linked
29 worktrees will be highlighted in cyan and marked with a plus sign.
30 Option -r causes the remote-tracking branches to be listed, and option
31 -a shows both local and remote branches.
32 If a <pattern> is given, it is used as a shell wildcard to restrict the
34 output to matching branches. If multiple patterns are given, a branch
35 is shown if it matches any of the patterns.
36 Note that when providing a <pattern>, you must use --list; otherwise
38 the command may be interpreted as branch creation.
39 With --contains, shows only the branches that contain the named commit
41 (in other words, the branches whose tip commits are descendants of the
42 named commit), --no-contains inverts it. With --merged, only branches
43 merged into the named commit (i.e. the branches whose tip commits are
44 reachable from the named commit) will be listed. With --no-merged only
45 branches not merged into the named commit will be listed. If the
46 <commit> argument is missing it defaults to HEAD (i.e. the tip of the
47 current branch).
48 The command’s second form creates a new branch head named <branchname>
50 which points to the current HEAD, or <start-point> if given. As a
51 special case, for <start-point>, you may use "A...B" as a shortcut for
52 the merge base of A and B if there is exactly one merge base. You can
53 leave out at most one of A and B, in which case it defaults to HEAD.
54 Note that this will create the new branch, but it will not switch the
56 working tree to it; use "git switch <newbranch>" to switch to the new
57 branch.
58 When a local branch is started off a remote-tracking branch, Git sets
60 up the branch (specifically the branch.<name>.remote and
61 branch.<name>.merge configuration entries) so that git pull will
62 appropriately merge from the remote-tracking branch. This behavior may
63 be changed via the global branch.autoSetupMerge configuration flag.
64 That setting can be overridden by using the --track and --no-track
65 options, and changed later using git branch --set-upstream-to.
66 With a -m or -M option, <oldbranch> will be renamed to <newbranch>. If
68 <oldbranch> had a corresponding reflog, it is renamed to match
69 <newbranch>, and a reflog entry is created to remember the branch
70 renaming. If <newbranch> exists, -M must be used to force the rename to
71 happen.
72 The -c and -C options have the exact same semantics as -m and -M,
74 except instead of the branch being renamed, it will be copied to a new
75 name, along with its config and reflog.
76 With a -d or -D option, <branchname> will be deleted. You may specify
78 more than one branch for deletion. If the branch currently has a reflog
79 then the reflog will also be deleted.
80 Use -r together with -d to delete remote-tracking branches. Note, that
82 it only makes sense to delete remote-tracking branches if they no
83 longer exist in the remote repository or if git fetch was configured
84 not to fetch them again. See also the prune subcommand of git-remote(1)
85 for a way to clean up all obsolete remote-tracking branches.
86
88 -d, --delete
89 Delete a branch. The branch must be fully merged in its upstream
90 branch, or in HEAD if no upstream was set with --track or
91 --set-upstream-to.
92 -D
94 Shortcut for --delete --force.
95 --create-reflog
97 Create the branch’s reflog. This activates recording of all changes
98 made to the branch ref, enabling use of date based sha1 expressions
99 such as "<branchname>@{yesterday}". Note that in non-bare
100 repositories, reflogs are usually enabled by default by the
101 core.logAllRefUpdates config option. The negated form
102 --no-create-reflog only overrides an earlier --create-reflog, but
103 currently does not negate the setting of core.logAllRefUpdates.
104 -f, --force
106 Reset <branchname> to <startpoint>, even if <branchname> exists
107 already. Without -f, git branch refuses to change an existing
108 branch. In combination with -d (or --delete), allow deleting the
109 branch irrespective of its merged status, or whether it even points
110 to a valid commit. In combination with -m (or --move), allow
111 renaming the branch even if the new branch name already exists, the
112 same applies for -c (or --copy).
113 -m, --move
115 Move/rename a branch and the corresponding reflog.
116 -M
118 Shortcut for --move --force.
119 -c, --copy
121 Copy a branch and the corresponding reflog.
122 -C
124 Shortcut for --copy --force.
125 --color[=<when>]
127 Color branches to highlight current, local, and remote-tracking
128 branches. The value must be always (the default), never, or auto.
129 --no-color
131 Turn off branch colors, even when the configuration file gives the
132 default to color output. Same as --color=never.
133 -i, --ignore-case
135 Sorting and filtering branches are case insensitive.
136 --column[=<options>], --no-column
138 Display branch listing in columns. See configuration variable
139 column.branch for option syntax. --column and --no-column without
140 options are equivalent to always and never respectively.
141 This option is only applicable in non-verbose mode.
143 -r, --remotes
145 List or delete (if used with -d) the remote-tracking branches.
146 Combine with --list to match the optional pattern(s).
147 -a, --all
149 List both remote-tracking branches and local branches. Combine with
150 --list to match optional pattern(s).
151 -l, --list
153 List branches. With optional <pattern>..., e.g. git branch --list
154 'maint-*', list only the branches that match the pattern(s).
155 --show-current
157 Print the name of the current branch. In detached HEAD state,
158 nothing is printed.
159 -v, -vv, --verbose
161 When in list mode, show sha1 and commit subject line for each head,
162 along with relationship to upstream branch (if any). If given
163 twice, print the path of the linked worktree (if any) and the name
164 of the upstream branch, as well (see also git remote show
165 <remote>). Note that the current worktree’s HEAD will not have its
166 path printed (it will always be your current directory).
167 -q, --quiet
169 Be more quiet when creating or deleting a branch, suppressing
170 non-error messages.
171 --abbrev=<n>
173 In the verbose listing that show the commit object name, show the
174 shortest prefix that is at least <n> hexdigits long that uniquely
175 refers the object. The default value is 7 and can be overridden by
176 the core.abbrev config option.
177 --no-abbrev
179 Display the full sha1s in the output listing rather than
180 abbreviating them.
181 -t, --track
183 When creating a new branch, set up branch.<name>.remote and
184 branch.<name>.merge configuration entries to mark the start-point
185 branch as "upstream" from the new branch. This configuration will
186 tell git to show the relationship between the two branches in git
187 status and git branch -v. Furthermore, it directs git pull without
188 arguments to pull from the upstream when the new branch is checked
189 out.
190 This behavior is the default when the start point is a
192 remote-tracking branch. Set the branch.autoSetupMerge configuration
193 variable to false if you want git switch, git checkout and git
194 branch to always behave as if --no-track were given. Set it to
195 always if you want this behavior when the start-point is either a
196 local or remote-tracking branch.
197 --no-track
199 Do not set up "upstream" configuration, even if the
200 branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable is true.
201 --set-upstream
203 As this option had confusing syntax, it is no longer supported.
204 Please use --track or --set-upstream-to instead.
205 -u <upstream>, --set-upstream-to=<upstream>
207 Set up <branchname>'s tracking information so <upstream> is
208 considered <branchname>'s upstream branch. If no <branchname> is
209 specified, then it defaults to the current branch.
210 --unset-upstream
212 Remove the upstream information for <branchname>. If no branch is
213 specified it defaults to the current branch.
214 --edit-description
216 Open an editor and edit the text to explain what the branch is for,
217 to be used by various other commands (e.g. format-patch,
218 request-pull, and merge (if enabled)). Multi-line explanations may
219 be used.
220 --contains [<commit>]
222 Only list branches which contain the specified commit (HEAD if not
223 specified). Implies --list.
224 --no-contains [<commit>]
226 Only list branches which don’t contain the specified commit (HEAD
227 if not specified). Implies --list.
228 --merged [<commit>]
230 Only list branches whose tips are reachable from the specified
231 commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.
232 --no-merged [<commit>]
234 Only list branches whose tips are not reachable from the specified
235 commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.
236 <branchname>
238 The name of the branch to create or delete. The new branch name
239 must pass all checks defined by git-check-ref-format(1). Some of
240 these checks may restrict the characters allowed in a branch name.
241 <start-point>
243 The new branch head will point to this commit. It may be given as a
244 branch name, a commit-id, or a tag. If this option is omitted, the
245 current HEAD will be used instead.
246 <oldbranch>
248 The name of an existing branch to rename.
249 <newbranch>
251 The new name for an existing branch. The same restrictions as for
252 <branchname> apply.
253 --sort=<key>
255 Sort based on the key given. Prefix - to sort in descending order
256 of the value. You may use the --sort=<key> option multiple times,
257 in which case the last key becomes the primary key. The keys
258 supported are the same as those in git for-each-ref. Sort order
259 defaults to the value configured for the branch.sort variable if
260 exists, or to sorting based on the full refname (including refs/...
261 prefix). This lists detached HEAD (if present) first, then local
262 branches and finally remote-tracking branches. See git-config(1).
263 --points-at <object>
265 Only list branches of the given object.
266 --format <format>
268 A string that interpolates %(fieldname) from a branch ref being
269 shown and the object it points at. The format is the same as that
270 of git-for-each-ref(1).
271
273 pager.branch is only respected when listing branches, i.e., when --list
274 is used or implied. The default is to use a pager. See git-config(1).
275
277 Start development from a known tag
278 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
280 $ cd my2.6
281 $ git branch my2.6.14 v2.6.14 [1m(1)
282 $ git switch my2.6.14
283 1. This step and the next one could be combined into a single
285 step with "checkout -b my2.6.14 v2.6.14".
286 Delete an unneeded branch
288 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/.../git.git my.git
290 $ cd my.git
291 $ git branch -d -r origin/todo origin/html origin/man [1m(1)
292 $ git branch -D test [1m(2)
293 1. Delete the remote-tracking branches "todo", "html" and
295 "man". The next fetch or pull will create them again
296 unless you configure them not to. See git-fetch(1).
297 2. Delete the "test" branch even if the "master" branch (or
298 whichever branch is currently checked out) does not have
299 all commits from the test branch.
300 Listing branches from a specific remote
302 $ git branch -r -l '<remote>/<pattern>' [1m(1)
304 $ git for-each-ref 'refs/remotes/<remote>/<pattern>' [1m(2)
305 1. Using -a would conflate <remote> with any local branches
307 you happen to have been prefixed with the same <remote>
308 pattern.
309 2. for-each-ref can take a wide range of options. See git-
310 for-each-ref(1)
311 Patterns will normally need quoting.
313
315 If you are creating a branch that you want to switch to immediately, it
316 is easier to use the "git switch" command with its -c option to do the
317 same thing with a single command.
318 The options --contains, --no-contains, --merged and --no-merged serve
320 four related but different purposes:
321 • --contains <commit> is used to find all branches which will need
323 special attention if <commit> were to be rebased or amended, since
324 those branches contain the specified <commit>.
325 • --no-contains <commit> is the inverse of that, i.e. branches that
327 don’t contain the specified <commit>.
328 • --merged is used to find all branches which can be safely deleted,
330 since those branches are fully contained by HEAD.
331 • --no-merged is used to find branches which are candidates for
333 merging into HEAD, since those branches are not fully contained by
334 HEAD.
335 When combining multiple --contains and --no-contains filters, only
337 references that contain at least one of the --contains commits and
338 contain none of the --no-contains commits are shown.
339 When combining multiple --merged and --no-merged filters, only
341 references that are reachable from at least one of the --merged commits
342 and from none of the --no-merged commits are shown.
343
345 git-check-ref-format(1), git-fetch(1), git-remote(1), “Understanding
346 history: What is a branch?”[1] in the Git User’s Manual.
347
349 Part of the git(1) suite
350
352 1. “Understanding history: What is a branch?”
353 file:///usr/share/doc/git/user-manual.html#what-is-a-branch
354Git 2.33.1 2021-10-12 GIT-BRANCH(1)