DESCRIPTION
If --list is given, or if there are no non-option arguments, existing branches are listed; the current
branch will be highlighted with an asterisk. Option -r causes the remote-tracking branches to be listed,
and option -a shows both local and remote branches. If a is given, it is used as a shell wildcard
to restrict the output to matching branches. If multiple patterns are given, a branch is shown if it
matches any of the patterns. Note that when providing a , you must use --list; otherwise the
command is interpreted as branch creation.
With --contains, shows only the branches that contain the named commit (in other words, the branches whose
tip commits are descendants of the named commit), --no-contains inverts it. With --merged, only branches
merged into the named commit (i.e. the branches whose tip commits are reachable from the named commit) will
be listed. With --no-merged only branches not merged into the named commit will be listed. If the <commit>
argument is missing it defaults to HEAD (i.e. the tip of the current branch).
The command's second form creates a new branch head named <branchname> which points to the current HEAD, or
<start-point> if given.
Note that this will create the new branch, but it will not switch the working tree to it; use "git checkout
<newbranch>" to switch to the new branch.
When a local branch is started off a remote-tracking branch, Git sets up the branch (specifically the
branch.<name>.remote and branch.<name>.merge configuration entries) so that git pull will appropriately
merge from the remote-tracking branch. This behavior may be changed via the global branch.autoSetupMerge
configuration flag. That setting can be overridden by using the --track and --no-track options, and changed
later using git branch --set-upstream-to.
With a -m or -M option, <oldbranch> will be renamed to <newbranch>. If <oldbranch> had a corresponding
reflog, it is renamed to match <newbranch>, and a reflog entry is created to remember the branch renaming.
If <newbranch> exists, -M must be used to force the rename to happen.
The -c and -C options have the exact same semantics as -m and -M, except instead of the branch being
renamed it along with its config and reflog will be copied to a new name.
With a -d or -D option, <branchname> will be deleted. You may specify more than one branch for deletion. If
the branch currently has a reflog then the reflog will also be deleted.
Use -r together with -d to delete remote-tracking branches. Note, that it only makes sense to delete
remote-tracking branches if they no longer exist in the remote repository or if git fetch was configured
not to fetch them again. See also the prune subcommand of git-remote(1) for a way to clean up all obsolete
remote-tracking branches.
OPTIONS
-d, --delete
Delete a branch. The branch must be fully merged in its upstream branch, or in HEAD if no upstream was
set with --track or --set-upstream-to.
-D
Shortcut for --delete --force.
--create-reflog
Create the branch's reflog. This activates recording of all changes made to the branch ref, enabling
use of date based sha1 expressions such as "<branchname>@{yesterday}". Note that in non-bare
repositories, reflogs are usually enabled by default by the core.logAllRefUpdates config option. The
negated form --no-create-reflog only overrides an earlier --create-reflog, but currently does not
negate the setting of core.logAllRefUpdates.
-f, --force
Reset <branchname> to <startpoint>, even if <branchname> exists already. Without -f, git branch refuses
to change an existing branch. In combination with -d (or --delete), allow deleting the branch
irrespective of its merged status. In combination with -m (or --move), allow renaming the branch even
if the new branch name already exists, the same applies for -c (or --copy).
-m, --move
Move/rename a branch and the corresponding reflog.
-M
Shortcut for --move --force.
-c, --copy
Copy a branch and the corresponding reflog.
-C
Shortcut for --copy --force.
--color[=<when>]
Color branches to highlight current, local, and remote-tracking branches. The value must be always (the
default), never, or auto.
--no-color
Turn off branch colors, even when the configuration file gives the default to color output. Same as
--color=never.
-i, --ignore-case
Sorting and filtering branches are case insensitive.
--column[=<options>], --no-column
Display branch listing in columns. See configuration variable column.branch for option syntax.--column
and --no-column without options are equivalent to always and never respectively.
This option is only applicable in non-verbose mode.
-r, --remotes
List or delete (if used with -d) the remote-tracking branches.
-a, --all
List both remote-tracking branches and local branches.
-l, --list
List branches. With optional <pattern>..., e.g. git branch --list 'maint-*', list only the branches
that match the pattern(s).
-v, -vv, --verbose
When in list mode, show sha1 and commit subject line for each head, along with relationship to upstream
branch (if any). If given twice, print the name of the upstream branch, as well (see also git remote
show <remote>).
-q, --quiet
Be more quiet when creating or deleting a branch, suppressing non-error messages.
--abbrev=<length>
Alter the sha1's minimum display length in the output listing. The default value is 7 and can be
overridden by the core.abbrev config option.
--no-abbrev
Display the full sha1s in the output listing rather than abbreviating them.
-t, --track
When creating a new branch, set up branch.<name>.remote and branch.<name>.merge configuration entries
to mark the start-point branch as "upstream" from the new branch. This configuration will tell git to
show the relationship between the two branches in git status and git branch -v. Furthermore, it directs
git pull without arguments to pull from the upstream when the new branch is checked out.
This behavior is the default when the start point is a remote-tracking branch. Set the
branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable to false if you want git checkout and git branch to always
behave as if --no-track were given. Set it to always if you want this behavior when the start-point is
either a local or remote-tracking branch.
--no-track
Do not set up "upstream" configuration, even if the branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable is
true.
--set-upstream
As this option had confusing syntax, it is no longer supported. Please use --track or --set-upstream-to
instead.
-u <upstream>, --set-upstream-to=<upstream>
Set up <branchname>'s tracking information so <upstream> is considered <branchname>'s upstream branch.
If no <branchname> is specified, then it defaults to the current branch.
--unset-upstream
Remove the upstream information for <branchname>. If no branch is specified it defaults to the current
branch.
--edit-description
Open an editor and edit the text to explain what the branch is for, to be used by various other
commands (e.g. format-patch, request-pull, and merge (if enabled)). Multi-line explanations may be
used.
--contains [<commit>]
Only list branches which contain the specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.
--no-contains [<commit>]
Only list branches which don't contain the specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies --list.
--merged [<commit>]
Only list branches whose tips are reachable from the specified commit (HEAD if not specified). Implies
--list, incompatible with --no-merged.
--no-merged [<commit>]
Only list branches whose tips are not reachable from the specified commit (HEAD if not specified).
Implies --list, incompatible with --merged.
<branchname>
The name of the branch to create or delete. The new branch name must pass all checks defined by git-
check-ref-format(1). Some of these checks may restrict the characters allowed in a branch name.
<start-point>
The new branch head will point to this commit. It may be given as a branch name, a commit-id, or a tag.
If this option is omitted, the current HEAD will be used instead.
<oldbranch>
The name of an existing branch to rename.
<newbranch>
The new name for an existing branch. The same restrictions as for <branchname> apply.
--sort=<key>
Sort based on the key given. Prefix - to sort in descending order of the value. You may use the
--sort=<key> option multiple times, in which case the last key becomes the primary key. The keys
supported are the same as those in git for-each-ref. Sort order defaults to the value configured for
the branch.sort variable if exists, or to sorting based on the full refname (including refs/...
prefix). This lists detached HEAD (if present) first, then local branches and finally remote-tracking
branches. See git-config(1).
--points-at <object>
Only list branches of the given object.
--format <format>
A string that interpolates %(fieldname) from a branch ref being shown and the object it points at. The
format is the same as that of git-for-each-ref(1).
CONFIGURATION
pager.branch is only respected when listing branches, i.e., when --list is used or implied. The default is
to use a pager. See git-config(1).
EXAMPLES
Start development from a known tag
$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
$ cd my2.6
$ git branch my2.6.14 v2.6.14 (1)
$ git checkout my2.6.14
1. This step and the next one could be combined into a single step with "checkout -b my2.6.14 v2.6.14".
Delete an unneeded branch
$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/.../git.git my.git
$ cd my.git
$ git branch -d -r origin/todo origin/html origin/man (1)
$ git branch -D test (2)
1. Delete the remote-tracking branches "todo", "html" and "man". The next fetch or pull will create
them again unless you configure them not to. See git-fetch(1).
2. Delete the "test" branch even if the "master" branch (or whichever branch is currently checked out)
does not have all commits from the test branch.
NOTES
If you are creating a branch that you want to checkout immediately, it is easier to use the git checkout
command with its -b option to create a branch and check it out with a single command.
The options --contains, --no-contains, --merged and --no-merged serve four related but different purposes:
o --contains <commit> is used to find all branches which will need special attention if <commit> were to
be rebased or amended, since those branches contain the specified <commit>.
o --no-contains <commit> is the inverse of that, i.e. branches that don't contain the specified <commit>.
o --merged is used to find all branches which can be safely deleted, since those branches are fully
contained by HEAD.
o --no-merged is used to find branches which are candidates for merging into HEAD, since those branches
are not fully contained by HEAD.
SEE ALSO
git-check-ref-format(1), git-fetch(1), git-remote(1), "Understanding history: What is a branch?"[1] in the
Git User's Manual.
GIT
Part of the git(1) suite
NOTES
"Understanding history: What is a branch?"
git-htmldocs/user-manual.html#what-is-a-branch
GIT-BRANCH(1) Git Manual GIT-BRANCH(1)
NAME git-branch - List, create, or delete branches
SYNOPSIS git branch [--color[=] | --no-color] [-r | -a]
[--list] [-v [--abbrev= | --no-abbrev]]
[--column[=] | --no-column] [--sort=]
[(--merged | --no-merged) []]
[--contains [<commit]] [--no-contains []]
[--points-at
DESCRIPTION If --list is given, or if there are no non-option arguments, existing branches are listed; the current branch will be highlighted with an asterisk. Option -r causes the remote-tracking branches to be listed, and option -a shows both local and remote branches. If a is given, it is used as a shell wildcard
to restrict the output to matching branches. If multiple patterns are given, a branch is shown if it
matches any of the patterns. Note that when providing a , you must use --list; otherwise the
command is interpreted as branch creation.
OPTIONS -d, --delete Delete a branch. The branch must be fully merged in its upstream branch, or in HEAD if no upstream was set with --track or --set-upstream-to.
CONFIGURATION pager.branch is only respected when listing branches, i.e., when --list is used or implied. The default is to use a pager. See git-config(1).
EXAMPLES Start development from a known tag
NOTES If you are creating a branch that you want to checkout immediately, it is easier to use the git checkout command with its -b option to create a branch and check it out with a single command.
SEE ALSO git-check-ref-format(1), git-fetch(1), git-remote(1), "Understanding history: What is a branch?"[1] in the Git User's Manual.
GIT Part of the git(1) suite
NOTES
Git 2.21.0 02/24/2019 GIT-BRANCH(1) (END)