If you're working on a new feature, or pushing a bug fix to your site, branching is a great way to ensure you don't cause any issues with your main version. In this guide we will cover the concepts of branching and merging; using Git as our version control system in the examples covered. ## Introduction In this guide we are going to cover 3 commands - `branch`, `checkout` and `merge`. A branch is essentially a version of your app that can work on, for example a development or bug fix branch. Checkout is the process of switching from one branch to another, so you don't make changes to the wrong version of your site. Finally, merge brings two different branches into one, effectively creating a single version of your site from two different versions. Let's now look at using these commands in the context of maintaining and improving our site. ## Creating a Branch Our website is live and online, but we would like to add a new feature, let's say a shopping cart so our customers can start buying our product. We will create a new branch called `cart`: ```bash $ git checkout -b cart Switched to a new branch 'cart' ``` This creates a new branch called cart and automatically switches to it, ready to start working on. That command is shorthand for the following: ```bash $ git branch cart $ git checkout cart ``` So now we have two branches, our main branch, referred to as `master`, and our newly created `cart` branch. ## Another Branch We are now working in our cart branch, but let's say we have found a bug on our main site. At this point, we should create a new branch: ```bash $ git checkout -b bugfix Switched to a new branch 'bugfix' ``` We can work on our fix without disturbing the site, and commit it to our bugfix branch: ```bash $ git commit -m "fixed the bug" [bugfix c42b77e] fixed bug 1 file changed ``` And now push the branch to our remote repository: ```bash $ git push -u origin bugfix * [new branch] bugfix -> bugfix Branch bugfix set up to track remote branch bugfix from origin ``` ## Merging a Branch We have tested the fix and we are happy, so let's merge this change into master. But first, we need to switch back to our master branch: ```bash $ git checkout master Switched to branch 'master' Your branch is up-to-date with 'origin/master' ``` Now we can merge our bugfix: ```bash $ git merge bugfix Updating 68fb3f6..c42b77e Fast-forward index.html | 1 1 file changed ``` And push to GitHub: ```bash $ git push origin master Total 0 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0) to git@github.com:adamw/first-project/repository.git 68fb3f6..c42b77e master -> master ``` ## Housekeeping Everything looks good, and the bug is now fixed and deployed. Let's remove our bugfix branch: ```bash $ git branch -d bugfix Deleted branch bugfix (was c42b77e) ``` We will want to remove the branch from our remote repository as well. ```bash $ git push origin --delete bugfix To git@github.com:adamw/first-project/repository.git - [deleted] bugfix ``` ## Summary In this guide, we have covered creating, merging, and removing branches, both locally and remotely. If any of the terminology in this guide was unfamiliar, our [Git glossary of common terms and phrases](/git/glossary) defines branches, HEAD, origin, remotes, and more. ## Creating a branch from a specific starting point By default, `git branch ` uses your current branch as the starting point for the new branch. If you want the new branch to start from a different branch or tag, pass it as a second argument: ```bash $ git branch ``` For example, if you're currently on a `bugfix` branch but want to create a new `feature` branch based on `master`, you can skip switching branches first: ```bash $ git branch feature master ``` This creates the `feature` branch from `master` without leaving your current branch. You can then switch to it with [`git checkout`](/git/commands/git-checkout) when you're ready. ## Safe vs force branch deletion The Housekeeping section above uses `git branch -d` to delete a branch. The lowercase `-d` flag is the safe option -- it only deletes the branch if it has been fully merged with its corresponding remote branch (or with HEAD if no remote branch has been set). If the branch contains unmerged work, Git will refuse and warn you. If you're certain you want to discard the branch and its unmerged commits, use the uppercase `-D` flag to force the deletion: ```bash $ git branch -D ``` **Note:** Both `-d` and `-D` only delete the branch in your local repository. To remove a branch from the remote, use `git push origin --delete ` as shown in the Housekeeping section. If you need to rename an existing branch instead of deleting it, see [how to rename a branch in Git](/git/faqs/rename-a-branch-in-git). --- Once your branches are merged and your code is ready, [DeployHQ](https://www.deployhq.com) can deploy it to your servers automatically from any Git repository.