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Branch Operations ​

This section covers all commands related to managing branches in IrysGit repositories.

igit branch ​

List, create, or delete branches.

Syntax ​

bash
igit branch [options]
igit branch <branch-name>
igit branch -d <branch-name>

Options ​

  • -a, --all - List all branches (local and remote)
  • -r, --remote - List remote branches only
  • -d, --delete - Delete a branch
  • -D, --force-delete - Force delete a branch
  • -m, --move - Rename a branch
  • -c, --copy - Copy a branch
  • --merged - List branches merged into current branch
  • --no-merged - List branches not merged into current branch

Examples ​

List local branches:

bash
igit branch

List all branches:

bash
igit branch -a

Create new branch:

bash
igit branch feature/new-feature

Delete branch:

bash
igit branch -d feature/old-feature

Force delete branch:

bash
igit branch -D experimental-feature

Rename branch:

bash
igit branch -m old-name new-name

Output Examples ​

List branches:

* main
  develop
  feature/authentication
  feature/ui-improvements

List all branches:

* main
  develop
  feature/authentication
  feature/ui-improvements
  remotes/origin/main
  remotes/origin/develop
  remotes/origin/feature/authentication

igit checkout ​

Switch branches or restore working tree files.

Syntax ​

bash
igit checkout <branch-name>
igit checkout -b <new-branch-name>
igit checkout -B <branch-name>

Options ​

  • -b - Create and switch to new branch
  • -B - Create or reset and switch to branch
  • --track - Set up tracking relationship
  • --force - Force checkout (discard local changes)
  • --orphan - Create orphan branch

Examples ​

Switch to existing branch:

bash
igit checkout main

Create and switch to new branch:

bash
igit checkout -b feature/new-feature

Force checkout (discard changes):

bash
igit checkout --force main

Create orphan branch:

bash
igit checkout --orphan gh-pages

Output ​

Switched to branch 'feature/new-feature'

igit switch ​

Switch branches (Git 2.23+ style).

Syntax ​

bash
igit switch <branch-name>
igit switch -c <new-branch-name>

Options ​

  • -c, --create - Create new branch and switch to it
  • -C, --force-create - Force create new branch and switch to it
  • --track - Set up tracking relationship
  • --force - Force switch (discard local changes)

Examples ​

Switch to existing branch:

bash
igit switch main

Create and switch to new branch:

bash
igit switch -c feature/new-feature

Force switch:

bash
igit switch --force develop

Output ​

Switched to a new branch 'feature/new-feature'

Remote Branch Operations ​

Listing Remote Branches ​

bash
# List remote branches
igit branch -r

# List all branches with remote tracking
igit branch -vv

Pushing Branches ​

bash
# Push current branch
igit push

# Push specific branch
igit push origin feature/new-feature

# Push and set upstream
igit push --set-upstream origin feature/new-feature

Pulling Branches ​

bash
# Pull current branch
igit pull

# Pull specific branch
igit pull origin main

# Pull and merge
igit pull --merge origin main

Branch Management Workflows ​

Feature Branch Workflow ​

bash
# Create feature branch
igit checkout -b feature/user-authentication

# Work on feature
echo "// Authentication code" > auth.js
git add auth.js
git commit -m "Add authentication"

# Push feature branch
igit push origin feature/user-authentication

# Switch back to main
igit checkout main

# Merge feature branch
git merge feature/user-authentication
igit push origin main

# Delete feature branch
igit branch -d feature/user-authentication

Release Branch Workflow ​

bash
# Create release branch from develop
igit checkout develop
igit checkout -b release/v1.2.0

# Finalize release
echo "1.2.0" > VERSION
git add VERSION
git commit -m "Version 1.2.0"

# Push release branch
igit push origin release/v1.2.0

# Merge to main
igit checkout main
git merge release/v1.2.0
igit push origin main

# Tag the release
git tag v1.2.0
git push origin v1.2.0

# Merge back to develop
igit checkout develop
git merge release/v1.2.0
igit push origin develop

# Delete release branch
igit branch -d release/v1.2.0

Hotfix Workflow ​

bash
# Create hotfix branch from main
igit checkout main
igit checkout -b hotfix/security-fix

# Apply hotfix
echo "// Security fix" > security-patch.js
git add security-patch.js
git commit -m "Fix security vulnerability"

# Push hotfix
igit push origin hotfix/security-fix

# Merge to main
igit checkout main
git merge hotfix/security-fix
igit push origin main

# Merge to develop
igit checkout develop
git merge hotfix/security-fix
igit push origin develop

# Delete hotfix branch
igit branch -d hotfix/security-fix

Branch Synchronization ​

Keeping Branches Updated ​

bash
# Update main branch
igit checkout main
igit pull origin main

# Update feature branch with latest main
igit checkout feature/my-feature
git merge main

# Alternative: rebase feature branch
git rebase main

# Push updated feature branch
igit push origin feature/my-feature

Resolving Conflicts ​

bash
# If merge conflicts occur
git merge main
# Edit conflicted files
git add .
git commit -m "Resolve merge conflicts"
igit push origin feature/my-feature

Branch Naming Conventions ​

bash
# Feature branches
feature/user-authentication
feature/payment-integration
feature/ui-improvements

# Bug fix branches
bugfix/login-error
bugfix/memory-leak
bugfix/validation-issue

# Release branches
release/v1.0.0
release/v2.0.0-beta

# Hotfix branches
hotfix/security-patch
hotfix/critical-bug

# Documentation branches
docs/api-documentation
docs/user-guide

Branch Prefixes ​

PrefixPurposeExample
feature/New featuresfeature/user-profile
bugfix/Bug fixesbugfix/login-error
hotfix/Critical fixeshotfix/security-patch
release/Release preparationrelease/v1.0.0
docs/Documentationdocs/api-guide
test/Testingtest/unit-tests
refactor/Code refactoringrefactor/auth-module

Branch Status and Information ​

Check Branch Status ​

bash
# Show current branch
igit branch --show-current

# Show branch information
igit branch -vv

# Show branch commit history
igit log --oneline --graph

Branch Comparison ​

bash
# Compare branches
git diff main..feature/my-feature

# Show commits in feature branch not in main
git log main..feature/my-feature

# Show files changed between branches
git diff --name-only main..feature/my-feature

Advanced Branch Operations ​

Branch Tracking ​

bash
# Set upstream branch
igit push --set-upstream origin feature/my-feature

# Track existing remote branch
igit branch --set-upstream-to=origin/feature/my-feature

# Show tracking branches
igit branch -vv

Branch Cleanup ​

bash
# List merged branches
igit branch --merged

# Delete merged branches
igit branch --merged | grep -v "main\|develop" | xargs -n 1 git branch -d

# List unmerged branches
igit branch --no-merged

# Prune remote branches
git remote prune origin

Branch Archives ​

bash
# Create archive of branch
git archive --format=zip --output=feature-branch.zip feature/my-feature

# Create tarball of branch
git archive --format=tar.gz --output=feature-branch.tar.gz feature/my-feature

Branch Security ​

Protected Branches ​

bash
# In repository settings (conceptual)
# Protect main branch from force pushes
# Require pull request reviews
# Require status checks

Branch Permissions ​

bash
# Check if user can push to branch
igit check-permissions $(igit config user.wallet) --branch main

# List branch contributors
igit list-contributors --branch feature/my-feature

Troubleshooting Branches ​

Common Issues ​

Branch Not Found:

bash
# Check if branch exists
igit branch -a | grep feature/my-feature

# Fetch remote branches
git fetch origin

Cannot Switch Branch:

bash
# Check for uncommitted changes
git status

# Stash changes
git stash

# Switch branch
igit switch main

# Apply stashed changes
git stash pop

Branch Diverged:

bash
# Check branch status
git status

# Pull latest changes
igit pull origin main

# Rebase local commits
git rebase origin/main

Recovery Operations ​

Recover Deleted Branch:

bash
# Find commit hash of deleted branch
git reflog

# Recreate branch from commit
igit checkout -b recovered-branch <commit-hash>

Undo Branch Merge:

bash
# Find merge commit
git log --oneline

# Reset to before merge
git reset --hard <commit-before-merge>

Best Practices ​

Branch Lifecycle ​

  1. Create: Create branch for specific purpose
  2. Develop: Make changes and commit regularly
  3. Push: Push branch to remote repository
  4. Review: Review changes before merging
  5. Merge: Merge into target branch
  6. Cleanup: Delete merged branches

Branch Hygiene ​

  • Keep branches focused on single features
  • Use descriptive branch names
  • Regularly update branches with latest changes
  • Delete merged branches promptly
  • Use pull requests for code review

Team Coordination ​

  • Communicate about branch creation
  • Follow naming conventions
  • Coordinate merge timing
  • Review branch changes before merging

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