Data Guidance for Researchers – Version Control Tutorial: Branching

Why Branch?

Imagine: You’re collaborating on a shared project. You want to add a new feature, but your teammate needs the current code to keep working. How do you add your feature without disrupting their work?

Answer: Branching!

Branches let multiple people work on the same project simultaneously - you develop your feature on one branch while your teammates continue using the stable main branch.

What is Branching?

Git allows us to create different working versions, or branches, of our repository.
This lets you take a snapshot of the repository and try out a new idea without affecting your main branch.
If you are collaborating with others, they can keep using (and editing) the main branch while you work in parallel.
Once satisfied with your changes, you can merge them back into main using a Pull Request.

Example Git Branching

The Branching Workflow

Pull any code updates! git pull
Create and check out a new branch. git branch and git checkout
Make and push commits to the new branch. git add, git commit, and git push
When ready to merge, create a Pull Request in GitHub
Review the Pull Request
Merge the Pull Request
Check out and pull main branch. git checkout and git pull

Understanding the Main Branch

Git creates a default branch called main.

You could think of the main branch as the trunk of a tree.

Understanding the Main Branch

Git creates a default branch called main.

You could think of the main branch as the trunk of a tree.

Git Bash shows the active branch name to the right of the prompt.

Creating Branches

Create and check out a new branch in Git Bash in one step:

git checkout -b your-name-here

Switched to a new branch 'your-name-here'

After checking out your branch, the branch name should show up next to the command line if you are using Git Bash.

For Our Exercise

Create a blank file called your-name.txt in the poems/ subfolder.
Find a poem on the internet. If you need inspiration, check out poets.org/poems
Copy-paste the text into your-name.txt
Inject the text “TYPO” somewhere in the poem
Save the file
Stage and commit your changes

Pushing Your Branch

After making commits on your branch, push them to GitHub.

The first time you push a new branch, Git will give you an error about no “upstream” branch. Simply run the command Git suggests:

git push --set-upstream origin your-name-here

What is a Pull Request?

A Pull Request (or “PR”) is a GitHub feature that lets you propose merging your branch into another branch (usually main).

It’s a request for your code changes to be reviewed and merged.
It provides a space for discussion, code review, and approval.
Some might say it is a bit of a misnomer. It isn’t related to using git pull to bring changes from GitHub to your local machine.