github-guru

🌿 03 – Branching & Merging

Welcome to the most powerful superpower in Git — Branching! ⚡
This is where developers go from “just coding” → “building like pros.”

If Git commits are your time machine, then branches are parallel universes 🪐 —
each branch lets you experiment, fix, or build features without touching the main project.

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🌱 1. git branch — Create, List, Delete Branches

A branch is simply a pointer to a specific commit — your own copy of the project timeline.

➕ Create a New Branch

git branch feature-login

This creates a new branch called feature-login (but doesn’t switch to it yet).

🔍 List All Branches

git branch

You’ll see:

* main
  feature-login

⭐ The * marks your current branch.

❌ Delete a Branch

git branch -d feature-login

or force delete (if not merged yet):

git branch -D feature-login

💡 Mental Model:

• main → your production line

• feature-* → your R&D labs

You can have infinite labs working in parallel, all under Git’s watch.

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🔄 2. git checkout — Switch Branches

Creating branches is cool.
But switching between them is where the magic happens.

🚀 Switch to a Branch

git checkout feature-login

Now your working directory instantly reflects that branch’s version.
Every file flips to match its last commit — no drama, no copy-paste.

🧠 Shortcut: Create + Switch Together

git checkout -b feature-login

This does both in one line. ⚡

🌈 Real-World Example

Let’s say you’re building an e-commerce app:

# On main branch
git checkout -b feature-cart

You add cart.js and commit:

git add cart.js
git commit -m "Add cart functionality"

Switch back:

git checkout main

Now, your cart code vanishes (temporarily) —
but it’s safe in the feature-cart branch. 🛒

🧬 3. git merge — Combine Branches

After finishing your new feature, you’ll want to bring it back to main.

💥 Merge Your Work

git checkout main
git merge feature-cart

If Git can merge automatically — you’ll see:

Fast-forward

and your main branch now includes all updates from feature-cart. 🎉

🧩 Visual Example

main
  ├── commit A (initial)
  ├── commit B (UI update)
  └── commit C (security patch)
        \
         └── feature-cart
              └── commit D (cart feature)

After merge:

main → A → B → C → D ✅

⚔️ 4. Resolving Merge Conflicts (Step-by-Step)

Sometimes, Git can’t decide whose changes to keep — that’s a merge conflict. 😤
Don’t panic — here’s your calm mode checklist 🧘‍♂️👇

🧱 Scenario:

Both main and feature-cart modified the same line in index.js.

When merging:

git merge feature-cart

Git says:

CONFLICT (content): Merge conflict in index.js
Automatic merge failed; fix conflicts and commit the result.

⚙️ Step-by-Step Fix

1. Open the conflicted file:

code index.js

1. You’ll see markers like this:

<<<<<<< HEAD
console.log("Welcome to ShopEasy!");
=======
console.log("Welcome to ShopSmart!");
>>>>>>> feature-cart

1. Manually edit and keep the correct version:

console.log("Welcome to ShopEasy — Smart & Fast!");

1. Mark it resolved:

git add index.js

1. Commit the fix:

git commit -m "Resolve merge conflict in index.js"

1. Done ✅

   Your branches are successfully merged!

💡 Pro Tip: Conflicts aren’t errors — they’re conversations between two developers.

🧭 5. Branch Naming Best Practices

Clean branches = clean workflow.
Follow these pro naming standards 👇

Type	Naming Format	Example
🌟 Feature	feature/<name>	feature/auth-system
🐞 Bugfix	bugfix/<issue-id>	bugfix/404-page
⚙️ Hotfix	hotfix/<short-desc>	hotfix/payment-crash
🧪 Experiment	experiment/<idea>	experiment/ui-revamp
🧰 Release	release/<version>	release/v2.1.0

🧠 Why this matters:

• Easier collaboration

• Cleaner pull requests

• Instantly recognizable purpose

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🧩 Real Project Flow (Example)

Let’s simulate a small workflow 👇

# Step 1: Create new feature branch
git checkout -b feature-search

# Step 2: Add code + commit
git add search.js
git commit -m "Add search feature"

# Step 3: Merge to main
git checkout main
git merge feature-search

# Step 4: Delete branch (cleanup)
git branch -d feature-search

✅ Done! You’ve completed a full branch → develop → merge → clean cycle.

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⚡ Summary Cheatsheet

Command	Purpose	Analogy
git branch	Create / view branches	Open new workspace
git checkout	Switch branches	Jump between timelines
git merge	Combine branches	Merge parallel universes
git branch -d	Delete branch	Close finished workspace

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🧠 Brain Hack

• Branch = Experiment lab (safe playground)

• Main = Production (never break it)

• Merge = Bringing your lab results into production

• Conflicts = Team discussions in code form

Visualize it like a tree 🌳:

The trunk is your main, every branch grows new features.
Once tested, merge them back to strengthen the trunk. 💪

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🌈 Next Up: “Remote Repositories” 🌍

You’ll learn:

How to connect Git with GitHub — push, pull, clone, and collaborate like real-world teams.

👉 Continue your journey → 04-Git-Remotes

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✍️ Written with ❤️ by Mahesh Shukla — branching out to better code, one commit at a time.

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