Creating and Switching Between Branches

So far, we've been working on a single line of development, often referred to as the 'main' or 'master' branch. This is great for simple projects or when you're just starting out. However, as projects grow and multiple people contribute, working on a single branch can lead to chaos. Imagine trying to fix a bug while simultaneously developing a new feature – changes could easily get mixed up! This is where branches come in. Branches allow you to create isolated lines of development, perfect for working on new features, bug fixes, or experiments without affecting the main project.

Think of branches like copies of your project at a specific point in time. When you create a new branch, you're essentially creating a snapshot of your current code. You can then make changes, add new files, and commit them to this new branch without impacting the original (or 'main') branch. This isolation is the key to productive and organized development.

Let's get hands-on. To create a new branch, you'll use the git branch command followed by the name you want to give your new branch. A common convention is to name branches descriptively, like feature/user-authentication or bugfix/login-error.

This command creates a new branch named feature/add-user-profile, but you're still currently working on your old branch (likely 'main'). To start working on this new branch, you need to 'switch' to it. We do this with the git checkout command (or git switch in newer Git versions, which we'll cover briefly).

After running this command, your working directory will now reflect the state of the feature/add-user-profile branch. Any new commits you make will be added to this branch, leaving your 'main' branch untouched.

To verify which branch you are currently on, you can use the git branch command without any arguments. The current branch will be highlighted with an asterisk (*).

graph TD;
    A[Main Branch]
    B(feature/add-user-profile)
    A --> B;
    B -- Checkout --> C(Current Working Branch);
    C -- Commits --> D(New History on Feature Branch);

Switching back to your 'main' branch is just as simple. You use the git checkout command again, this time specifying the 'main' branch.

Now, your working directory will revert to the state of the 'main' branch, and any new commits will be added there. This ability to hop between branches is incredibly powerful for managing different tasks simultaneously.

For newer versions of Git, the git switch command offers a more explicit way to manage branches. git switch <branch-name> behaves similarly to git checkout <branch-name> for switching branches. git switch -c <new-branch-name> is a shortcut to create a new branch and immediately switch to it, combining the functionality of git branch and git checkout into one command.

Mastering the creation and switching of branches is a fundamental step in your Git journey. It unlocks the ability to work in parallel, keep your code organized, and collaborate effectively with others.