How to Switch Git Branches: A Step-by-Step Guide

Switching to another branch in Git is straightforward. Here’s a step-by-step guide to Switch Git Branches

Switch Git Branches – Step-by-Step Guide

1. Open your terminal or command prompt:

• This can be done through the built-in terminal on your operating system, or a terminal provided by your IDE or text editor.

2. Navigate to your repository:

• Use the cd command to move into the directory of your Git repository.

cd path/to/your/repository

3. List all branches (optional):

• This will show you all the branches in your repository and highlight the current branch.

git branch

• To see remote branches as well, use:

git branch -a

Switch to another branch:

• Use the git checkout command followed by the name of the branch you want to switch to.

git checkout branch_name

• In Git version 2.23 and later, you can also use:

git switch branch_name

Example

Assume you have a branch named feature-branch and you want to Switch Git Branches to it. Here’s how you do it:

cd path/to/your/repository git branch     # This lists all branches git checkout feature branch

or

git switch feature-branch

Creating and Switching to a New Branch

If the branch you want to switch to does not exist, you can create it and switch to it in one command:

git checkout -b new_branch_name

or

git switch -c new_branch_name

This command creates a new branch and switches to it immediately.

Verifying the Switch

To verify that you have successfully switched to the desired branch, you can run:

git branch

The currently active branch will be highlighted with an asterisk (*).

By following these steps, you can easily switch between branches in your Git repository.