Git & Version Control

Branching & Merging

Work in parallel and bring changes back together.

35 min read beginner 3 objectives

Status

Not started

What you will learn

  • Create and switch branches
  • Merge cleanly
  • Resolve conflicts

New to this? Start here

The basics, in plain English

A branch lets you work on a new feature on a separate copy of the code, without touching the main version. When the feature is ready, you merge it back in. This is how teams build many things at once safely.

Branch
A separate line of work, like a parallel copy of the code you can change freely.
main
The primary branch that holds the official, working version of the code.
Merge
Combining the changes from one branch back into another.
Conflict
When two branches changed the same line, and Git asks you to choose which wins.
Why branch
So unfinished work stays isolated and never breaks the main version everyone uses.
01

Branches are cheap

A branch is just a movable pointer to a commit. Merge brings histories together; conflicts happen when the same lines diverge.

Try it yourself

bash
$git switch -c feature/login
Create a new branch and switch to it in one step.
$git merge main
Pull the latest main into your branch.
$git branch -d feature/login
Delete the branch once it has been merged.
↳ lines explain what each command does — only the commands get copied

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