# man > git-branch(1)

> **TLDR:** Main Git command for working with branches.
>
- List all branches (local and remote; the current branch is highlighted by `*`):
  `git branch {{-a|--all}}`
- List which branches include a specific Git commit in their history:
  `git branch {{-a|--all}} --contains {{commit_hash}}`
- Show the name of the current branch:
  `git branch --show-current`
- Create new branch based on the current commit:
  `git branch {{branch_name}}`
- Create new branch based on a specific commit:
  `git branch {{branch_name}} {{commit_hash}}`
- Rename a branch (you must switch to a different branch before doing this):
  `git branch {{-m|--move}} {{old_branch_name}} {{new_branch_name}}`
- Delete a local branch (you must switch to a different branch before doing this):
  `git branch {{-d|--delete}} {{branch_name}}`
- Delete a remote branch:
  `git push {{remote_name}} {{-d|--delete}} {{remote_branch_name}}`

*Source: tldr-pages*

---

[_GIT-BRANCH_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/GIT-BRANCH/1/markdown)                                Git Manual                                [_GIT-BRANCH_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/GIT-BRANCH/1/markdown)

## NAME
       git-branch - List, create, or delete branches

## SYNOPSIS
       _git_ _branch_ [--color[=<when>] | --no-color] [--show-current]
               [-v [--abbrev=<n> | --no-abbrev]]
               [--column[=<options>] | --no-column] [--sort=<key>]
               [--merged [<commit>]] [--no-merged [<commit>]]
               [--contains [<commit>]] [--no-contains [<commit>]]
               [--points-at <object>] [--format=<format>]
               [(-r | --remotes) | (-a | --all)]
               [--list] [<pattern>...]
       _git_ _branch_ [--track[=(direct|inherit)] | --no-track] [-f]
               [--recurse-submodules] <branchname> [<start-point>]
       _git_ _branch_ (--set-upstream-to=<upstream> | -u <upstream>) [<branchname>]
       _git_ _branch_ --unset-upstream [<branchname>]
       _git_ _branch_ (-m | -M) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
       _git_ _branch_ (-c | -C) [<oldbranch>] <newbranch>
       _git_ _branch_ (-d | -D) [-r] <branchname>...
       _git_ _branch_ --edit-description [<branchname>]


## DESCRIPTION
       If **--list **is given, or if there are no non-option arguments, existing branches are listed;
       the current branch will be highlighted in green and marked with an asterisk. Any branches
       checked out in linked worktrees will be highlighted in cyan and marked with a plus sign.
       Option **-r **causes the remote-tracking branches to be listed, and option **-a **shows both local
       and remote branches.

       If a **<pattern> **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 **<pattern>**, you must use **--list**; otherwise the command may be
       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. As a special case, for <start-point>, you may use
       **"A...B" **as a shortcut for the merge base of **A **and **B **if there is exactly one merge base. You
       can leave out at most one of **A **and **B**, in which case it defaults to **HEAD**.

       Note that this will create the new branch, but it will not switch the working tree to it; use
       "git switch <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 will be copied to a new name, along with its config and reflog.

       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)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-remote/1/markdown)
       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 <start-point>, 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, or whether it even points to a
           valid commit. 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**).

           Note that _git_ _branch_ _-f_ _<branchname>_ _[<start-point>]_, even with _-f_, refuses to change an
           existing branch **<branchname> **that is checked out in another worktree linked to the same
           repository.

### -m, --move
           Move/rename a branch, together with its config and reflog.

### -M
           Shortcut for **--move --force**.

### -c, --copy
           Copy a branch, together with its config and 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.

### --omit-empty
           Do not print a newline after formatted refs where the format expands to the empty string.

       --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. Combine with **--list **to
           match the optional pattern(s).

### -a, --all
           List both remote-tracking branches and local branches. Combine with **--list **to match
           optional pattern(s).

### -l, --list
           List branches. With optional **<pattern>...**, e.g.  **git branch --list 'maint-*'**, list only
           the branches that match the pattern(s).

### --show-current
           Print the name of the current branch. In detached HEAD state, nothing is printed.

### -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 path of the linked
           worktree (if any) and the name of the upstream branch, as well (see also **git remote show**
           **<remote>**). Note that the current worktree’s HEAD will not have its path printed (it will
           always be your current directory).

### -q, --quiet
           Be more quiet when creating or deleting a branch, suppressing non-error messages.

       --abbrev=<n>
           In the verbose listing that show the commit object name, show the shortest prefix that is
           at least _<n>_ hexdigits long that uniquely refers the object. 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[=(direct|inherit)]
           When creating a new branch, set up **branch.<name>.remote **and **branch.<name>.merge**
           configuration entries to set "upstream" tracking configuration for 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.

           The exact upstream branch is chosen depending on the optional argument: **-t**, **--track**, or
           **--track=direct **means to use the start-point branch itself as the upstream;
           **--track=inherit **means to copy the upstream configuration of the start-point branch.

           The branch.autoSetupMerge configuration variable specifies how **git switch**, **git checkout**
           and **git branch **should behave when neither **--track **nor **--no-track **are specified:

           The default option, **true**, behaves as though **--track=direct **were given whenever the
           start-point is a remote-tracking branch.  **false **behaves as if **--no-track **were given.
           **always **behaves as though **--track=direct **were given.  **inherit **behaves as though
           **--track=inherit **were given.  **simple **behaves as though **--track=direct **were given only when
           the start-point is a remote-tracking branch and the new branch has the same name as the
           remote branch.

           See [**git-pull**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-pull/1/markdown) and [**git-config**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-config/1/markdown) for additional discussion on how the
           **branch.<name>.remote **and **branch.<name>.merge **options are used.

### --no-track
           Do not set up "upstream" configuration, even if the branch.autoSetupMerge configuration
           variable is set.

### --recurse-submodules
           THIS OPTION IS EXPERIMENTAL! Causes the current command to recurse into submodules if
           **submodule.propagateBranches **is enabled. See **submodule.propagateBranches **in [**git-config**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-config/1/markdown).
           Currently, only branch creation is supported.

           When used in branch creation, a new branch <branchname> will be created in the
           superproject and all of the submodules in the superproject’s <start-point>. In
           submodules, the branch will point to the submodule commit in the superproject’s
           <start-point> but the branch’s tracking information will be set up based on the
           submodule’s branches and remotes e.g.  **git branch --recurse-submodules topic origin/main**
           will create the submodule branch "topic" that points to the submodule commit in the
           superproject’s "origin/main", but tracks the submodule’s "origin/main".

### --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**.

       --no-merged [<commit>]
           Only list branches whose tips are not reachable from the specified commit (HEAD if not
           specified). Implies **--list**.

       <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)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-check-ref-format/1/markdown). 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 it 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)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/config/1/markdown).

### --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)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-for-each-ref/1/markdown).

## 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)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-config/1/markdown).

       Everything above this line in this section isn’t included from the [**git-config**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-config/1/markdown)
       documentation. The content that follows is the same as what’s found there:

       branch.autoSetupMerge
           Tells _git_ _branch_, _git_ _switch_ and _git_ _checkout_ to set up new branches so that [**git-pull**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-pull/1/markdown)
           will appropriately merge from the starting point branch. Note that even if this option is
           not set, this behavior can be chosen per-branch using the **--track **and **--no-track **options.
           The valid settings are: **false **— no automatic setup is done; **true **— automatic setup is
           done when the starting point is a remote-tracking branch; **always **—  automatic setup is
           done when the starting point is either a local branch or remote-tracking branch; **inherit**
           — if the starting point has a tracking configuration, it is copied to the new branch;
           **simple **— automatic setup is done only when the starting point is a remote-tracking branch
           and the new branch has the same name as the remote branch. This option defaults to true.

       branch.autoSetupRebase
           When a new branch is created with _git_ _branch_, _git_ _switch_ or _git_ _checkout_ that tracks
           another branch, this variable tells Git to set up pull to rebase instead of merge (see
           "branch.<name>.rebase"). When **never**, rebase is never automatically set to true. When
           **local**, rebase is set to true for tracked branches of other local branches. When **remote**,
           rebase is set to true for tracked branches of remote-tracking branches. When **always**,
           rebase will be set to true for all tracking branches. See "branch.autoSetupMerge" for
           details on how to set up a branch to track another branch. This option defaults to never.

       branch.sort
           This variable controls the sort ordering of branches when displayed by [**git-branch**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-branch/1/markdown).
           Without the "--sort=<value>" option provided, the value of this variable will be used as
           the default. See [**git-for-each-ref**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-for-each-ref/1/markdown) field names for valid values.

       branch.<name>.remote
           When on branch <name>, it tells _git_ _fetch_ and _git_ _push_ which remote to fetch from or push
           to. The remote to push to may be overridden with **remote.pushDefault **(for all branches).
           The remote to push to, for the current branch, may be further overridden by
           **branch.<name>.pushRemote**. If no remote is configured, or if you are not on any branch and
           there is more than one remote defined in the repository, it defaults to **origin **for
           fetching and **remote.pushDefault **for pushing. Additionally, **.  **(a period) is the current
           local repository (a dot-repository), see **branch.<name>.merge**'s final note below.

       branch.<name>.pushRemote
           When on branch <name>, it overrides **branch.<name>.remote **for pushing. It also overrides
           **remote.pushDefault **for pushing from branch <name>. When you pull from one place (e.g.
           your upstream) and push to another place (e.g. your own publishing repository), you would
           want to set **remote.pushDefault **to specify the remote to push to for all branches, and use
           this option to override it for a specific branch.

       branch.<name>.merge
           Defines, together with branch.<name>.remote, the upstream branch for the given branch. It
           tells _git_ _fetch_/_git_ _pull_/_git_ _rebase_ which branch to merge and can also affect _git_ _push_
           (see push.default). When in branch <name>, it tells _git_ _fetch_ the default refspec to be
           marked for merging in FETCH_HEAD. The value is handled like the remote part of a refspec,
           and must match a ref which is fetched from the remote given by "branch.<name>.remote".
           The merge information is used by _git_ _pull_ (which first calls _git_ _fetch_) to lookup the
           default branch for merging. Without this option, _git_ _pull_ defaults to merge the first
           refspec fetched. Specify multiple values to get an octopus merge. If you wish to setup
           _git_ _pull_ so that it merges into <name> from another branch in the local repository, you
           can point branch.<name>.merge to the desired branch, and use the relative path setting **.**
           (a period) for branch.<name>.remote.

       branch.<name>.mergeOptions
           Sets default options for merging into branch <name>. The syntax and supported options are
           the same as those of [**git-merge**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-merge/1/markdown), but option values containing whitespace characters are
           currently not supported.

       branch.<name>.rebase
           When true, rebase the branch <name> on top of the fetched branch, instead of merging the
           default branch from the default remote when "git pull" is run. See "pull.rebase" for
           doing this in a non branch-specific manner.

           When **merges **(or just _m_), pass the **--rebase-merges **option to _git_ _rebase_ so that the local
           merge commits are included in the rebase (see [**git-rebase**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-rebase/1/markdown) for details).

           When the value is **interactive **(or just _i_), the rebase is run in interactive mode.

           **NOTE**: this is a possibly dangerous operation; do **not **use it unless you understand the
           implications (see [**git-rebase**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-rebase/1/markdown) for details).

       branch.<name>.description
           Branch description, can be edited with **git branch --edit-description**. Branch description
           is automatically added to the format-patch cover letter or request-pull summary.

## 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 switch 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)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-fetch/1/markdown).
            **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.

       Listing branches from a specific remote

               $ git branch -r -l '<remote>/<pattern>'                 **(1)**
               $ git for-each-ref 'refs/remotes/<remote>/<pattern>'    **(2)**

            **1. **Using **-a **would conflate <remote> with any local branches you happen to have
               been prefixed with the same <remote> pattern.
            **2. for-each-ref **can take a wide range of options. See [**git-for-each-ref**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-for-each-ref/1/markdown)

       Patterns will normally need quoting.

## NOTES
       If you are creating a branch that you want to switch to immediately, it is easier to use the
       "git switch" command with its **-c **option to do the same thing with a single command.

       The options **--contains**, **--no-contains**, **--merged **and **--no-merged **serve four related but
       different purposes:

       •   **--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>.

       •   **--no-contains <commit> **is the inverse of that, i.e. branches that don’t contain the
           specified <commit>.

       •   **--merged **is used to find all branches which can be safely deleted, since those branches
           are fully contained by HEAD.

       •   **--no-merged **is used to find branches which are candidates for merging into HEAD, since
           those branches are not fully contained by HEAD.

       When combining multiple **--contains **and **--no-contains **filters, only references that contain at
       least one of the **--contains **commits and contain none of the **--no-contains **commits are shown.

       When combining multiple **--merged **and **--no-merged **filters, only references that are reachable
       from at least one of the **--merged **commits and from none of the **--no-merged **commits are shown.

## SEE ALSO
       [**git-check-ref-format**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-check-ref-format/1/markdown), [**git-fetch**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-fetch/1/markdown), [**git-remote**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git-remote/1/markdown), **“Understanding history: What is a**
       **branch?”**[1] in the Git User’s Manual.

## GIT
       Part of the [**git**(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/git/1/markdown) suite

## NOTES
        1. “Understanding history: What is a branch?”
           file:///usr/share/doc/git/html/user-manual.html#what-is-a-branch

Git 2.43.0                                   07/02/2025                                [_GIT-BRANCH_(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/GIT-BRANCH/1/markdown)