0x30Lesson 4 of 6

Work with branches and merges

Develop changes on a branch and bring finished work back together.

12 min 5-question quiz

By the end of this lesson you can

Create a branch, switch between branches and merge changes.

A branch is a movable name pointing to a commit. HEAD identifies the current checkout, usually through the current branch. Branches make it easy to develop separately; merging combines histories and may create a merge commit.

terminal · git

1git switch -c feature/profile
2# make and commit changes
3git add src/profile.js
4git commit -m "Add profile page"
5
6git switch main
7git merge feature/profile

Output

Switched to a new branch 'feature/profile'
[feature/profile 31ac901] Add profile page
Switched to branch 'main'
Updating ...
Fast-forward

A fast-forward merge moves the current branch pointer ahead when it has no unique commits. If both branches have new commits, Git combines the histories with a merge commit unless you choose another strategy.

Key takeaways

Branches are lightweight names pointing at commits.
git switch -c creates a branch and checks it out.
Merge brings a branch’s changes into the currently checked-out branch.

Lesson quiz

5 questions · pass with 4 correct · up to 50 XP

Passing this quiz completes the lesson and keeps your streak going. Questions you miss come back in review sessions later.

Questions about this lesson

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