git-branch1

Usage

Overview

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). With --forked, only branches whose configured upstream matches the given branch or pattern will be listed.

The command’s second form creates a new branch head named <branch-name> which points to the current HEAD, or <start-point> if given. As a special case, for <start-point>, you may use <rev-A>...<rev-B> as a shortcut for the merge base of <rev-A> and <rev-B> if there is exactly one merge base. You can leave out at most one of <rev-A> and <rev-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 <new-branch> 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, <old-branch> will be renamed to <new-branch>. If <old-branch> had a corresponding reflog, it is renamed to match <new-branch>, and a reflog entry is created to remember the branch renaming. If <new-branch> 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, <branch-name> 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 <branch-name>@{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 <branch-name> to <start-point>, even if <branch-name> 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 <branch-name> [<start-point>], even with -f, refuses to change an existing branch <branch-name> 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.

--sort=<key>

Sort based on <key>. 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(1). 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).

-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.

--delete-merged <pattern>

Delete local branches whose configured upstream matches <pattern>, but only when their tip is reachable from that upstream. In other words, the work on the branch has already landed on the upstream it tracks, so the local copy is no longer needed. <pattern> may name a ref, a remote (using the branch its HEAD points at), or a shell-style glob. The option can be repeated to widen the upstream match. Optional <branch-pattern> arguments limit which local branches are considered, e.g. git branch --delete-merged 'origin/*' 'topic-*'.

A branch is not deleted when:

• its configured upstream ref no longer exists,

• it is checked out in any worktree,

• pushing it to the remote configured by branch.<name>.remote would update its upstream, so it cannot be distinguished from a branch that just looks fully merged right after a pull; this is determined by the remote’s configured push and fetch refspecs,

• it is the local upstream of a branch that is not being deleted, or

• branch.<name>.deleteMerged is set to false.

When such a local upstream branch has its own upstream deleted by the same operation, its upstream configuration is cleared.

A branch whose work has not yet been merged into its upstream is silently skipped. Delete it with git branch -D if you want to remove it anyway.

--dry-run

With --delete-merged, print which branches would be deleted and exit without touching any ref. Useful for sanity-checking a wide pattern like 'origin/*' before committing to the deletion.

-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! Cause 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 <branch-name> 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 <branch-name>'s tracking information so <upstream> is considered <branch-name>'s upstream branch. If no <branch-name> is specified, then it defaults to the current branch.

--unset-upstream

Remove the upstream information for <branch-name>. 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 <commit> (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.

--no-contains [<commit>]

Only list branches which don’t contain <commit> (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.

--merged [<commit>]

Only list branches whose tips are reachable from <commit> (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.

--no-merged [<commit>]

Only list branches whose tips are not reachable from <commit> (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.

--forked <branch>

Only list branches whose configured upstream matches <branch>. The argument can be a ref (e.g. origin/main, master), a remote name like origin for the branch its origin/HEAD points at, or a shell-style glob (e.g. 'origin/*'). The option can be repeated to widen the filter. Implies --list.

--points-at <object>

Only list branches of <object>.

--format <format>

A string that interpolates %(fieldname) from a branch ref being shown and the object it points at. <format> is the same as that of git-for-each-ref(1).

<branch-name>

<start-point>

<old-branch>

<new-branch>

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

branch.autoSetupRebase

branch.sort

branch.<name>.remote

branch.<name>.pushRemote

branch.<name>.merge

branch.<name>.mergeOptions

branch.<name>.rebase

branch.<name>.description

branch.<name>.deleteMerged

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

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)

Listing branches from a specific remote

$ git branch -r -l '<remote>/<pattern>'                 (1)
$ git for-each-ref 'refs/remotes/<remote>/<pattern>'    (2)

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:

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.

Git

Part of the git(1) suite

Notes

1.

"Understanding history: What is a branch?"

file:///usr/share/doc/git-doc/user-manual.html#what-is-a-branch