Push & Pull -- Git Remotes

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Overview

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Push & Pull Sequence

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1. Clone Intro

• Remote repositories are copies of your repository on another computer
• Remotes serve as backups and enable collaboration
• Remote branches are prefixed with o/ (e.g., o/main)
• git clone creates a remote repository (in this tutorial’s simulation)

git clone  # Create a remote repository

• A remote repository is created
• Remote branches appear with o/ prefix
• Local branches can track remote branches

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2. Remote Branches

• Remote branches reflect the state of the remote repository
• They have special properties: detached HEAD when checked out
• You can’t commit directly to remote branches
• Remote branches update when you fetch, pull, or push
• The o/ prefix indicates remote branches

# Local branch
main → C3

# Remote branch (after clone)
o/main → C1

# After pushing
main → C3
o/main → C3

• Remote branches are read-only from your local perspective
• They update automatically when syncing with the remote
• They show where the remote repository was last time you synced

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3. Git Fetch

• git fetch downloads commits from the remote
• It updates o/<branch> remote branches
• Does NOT change your local branches
• Does NOT change your working files
• Safe operation that only downloads

git fetch  # Download commits from remote

1. Downloads new commits from the remote
2. Updates remote branches (o/main, etc.)
3. Leaves your local branches unchanged
4. Allows you to review changes before integrating

# Before fetch
main → C1
o/main → C1

# Remote has new commits C2, C3
# After git fetch
main → C1         (unchanged)
o/main → C3       (updated)

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4. Git Pull

• git pull = git fetch + git merge
• Downloads commits AND merges them into your branch
• Updates both remote branches and your current branch
• Creates merge commit if there are diverging changes

git pull  # Fetch and merge in one command

# Before pull
main → C1
o/main → C3 (remote is ahead)

# After git pull  
main → C4 (merged with remote changes)
o/main → C3

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5. Faking Teamwork

• In Learn Git Branching, this simulates teammates pushing to remote
• In real Git, others push to the shared remote
• Helps you practice handling diverged branches
• Prepares you for real collaboration scenarios

git fakeTeamwork <branch> <num>  # Simulate remote commits

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6. Git Push

• git push uploads your commits to the remote
• Updates the remote repository with your changes
• Updates remote branches (o/main) to match
• Can fail if remote has changes you don’t have (not “fast-forward”)

git push  # Upload commits to remote

# Before push
main → C3
o/main → C1

# After git push
main → C3  
o/main → C3  (updated)

# If remote has commits you don't have
git push
# Error: Updates were rejected

# Solution: Pull first, then push
git pull
git push

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7. Diverged Work (Fetch-Rebase Workflow)

• Your branch and remote branch can diverge
• git pull --rebase = git fetch + git rebase
• Creates cleaner, linear history compared to merge
• Useful for keeping history tidy

git pull --rebase  # Fetch and rebase (instead of merge)

# Diverged state
main → C2 (your work)
o/main → C3 (remote work)

# After git pull --rebase
main → C2' (your work rebased on top)
o/main → C3

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8. Locked Main (Push Rejection)

• Many teams lock the main branch
• You must push to feature branches and create pull requests
• Use git push origin <branch> to push to specific branches
• Work on feature branches, not main directly

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature
git commit

# Push feature branch
git push origin feature

# Pull request happens on GitHub/GitLab
# After merge, update local main
git checkout main  
git pull

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Advanced Remote Operations

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1. Push Main (Multiple Branches)

• Push only the branches you want to share
• Can push multiple branches at once
• Use specific push syntax for control

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2. Merge Main (Multiple Features)

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3. Remote Tracking

• Local branches can track remote branches
• Tracking enables git push and git pull without arguments
• Set tracking with git checkout -b <branch> <remote>/<branch>
• Or use git branch -u <remote>/<branch>

git checkout -b feature o/feature  # Create and track
git branch -u o/main main          # Set tracking

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4. Push Arguments

• Full syntax: git push <remote> <source>:<destination>
• Push local branch to different remote branch name
• Can create new remote branches

git push origin main             # Push main to origin/main
git push origin foo:main         # Push local foo to remote main
git push origin main:newBranch   # Create new remote branch

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5. Push Arguments #2 (Creating Remote Branches)

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6. Fetch Arguments

• Full syntax: git fetch <remote> <source>:<destination>
• Fetch specific branches
• Download to different local branches

git fetch origin main            # Fetch main
git fetch origin foo:bar         # Fetch foo to local bar

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7. Source of Nothing

• : with empty source deletes remote branches
• git push origin :branch deletes remote branch
• git fetch origin :branch deletes local branch

git push origin :feature   # Delete remote feature branch
git fetch origin :local    # Delete local branch

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8. Pull Arguments

• Pull arguments specify source and destination
• Combines fetch arguments with merge behavior

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Workflows Summary

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Basic Workflow

git clone                  # Setup
git commit                 # Work locally  
git pull                   # Get remote changes
git push                   # Share your work

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Rebase Workflow

git fetch                  # Download changes
git rebase origin/main     # Rebase on remote
git push                   # Share clean history

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Feature Branch Workflow

git checkout -b feature    # Create feature branch
git commit                 # Work on feature
git push origin feature    # Push to remote
# Create pull request
git checkout main
git pull                   # Update main after merge

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Key Commands Reference