In some workflows, a new branch is created for each new feature, these are referred to as 'feature branches'.Different environments, such as Development, Testing, and Production are often isolated to different branches.Branches allow developers to isolate their changes in various ways, which can be important for the developers and organizational workflows: This means that multiple developers often work on the same codebase at the exact same time. Order is maintained because each commit also references the commit that came before it (commonly referred to as its parent).ĭevelopers these days tend to work in teams. As you make additional commits, HEAD is reassigned so that it always points to the latest commit. When you create your first commit, Git sets a reference (ref) point called HEAD, which always points to the commit ID of the commit currently checked out in your working directory. As we'll see later, it is commonly renamed to main these days. It is really just a label that points to a specific commit.Īs you make new commits, Git repoints the branch name to the new commit, so a branch is basically a ref (label) that always points to the tip of the chain of commits you're working on.Īll Git repositories in which at least one commit has been made have at least one branch, which is named the master branch by default. Each of the commits in a branch references its parent commit, except the initial commit, which has no parent commit.Ī Git branch is really more of a concept than an actual data structure. In Git, a branch is a label that identifies a series of commits that are connected to each other. In this article, we'll explain what a branch is in Git, how to create and delete branches, and different strategies for working with Git branches. To work effectively an understanding of git branches is required. How Do I Know Which Branch I Branched From?Ī large part of working with git involves collaborating with other developers.

Git delete branch just created