How to sync a Git branch with the main branch

This guide provides an in-depth explanation of how to sync a Git branch with the main branch using various Git commands.

Understanding the need to sync branches

Syncing a feature branch with the main branch ensures that your branch has the latest updates, bug fixes, and features. This practice helps prevent merge conflicts, maintain compatibility, and keep your development process streamlined.

Methods to sync a Git branch with the main branch

1. Fetch and rebase

Rebasing integrates changes from the main branch into your feature branch by replaying your changes on top of the latest commits from the main branch. This method keeps a linear project history, which is easier to follow.

Steps to fetch and rebase

1. Fetch the latest changes from the remote repository:

   Terminal

   git fetch origin
   
   

2. Checkout your feature branch:

   Terminal

   git checkout your-feature-branch
   
   

3. Rebase your feature branch onto the main branch:

   Terminal

   git rebase origin/main
   
   

   If there are any conflicts, Git will pause the rebase process and prompt you to resolve them. After resolving conflicts, continue the rebase with:

   Terminal

   git rebase --continue
   
   

4. Push the rebased branch to the remote repository:

   Terminal

   git push -f origin your-feature-branch
   
   

   The -f flag (force) is necessary because rebasing rewrites commit history, which requires force pushing to update the remote branch.

2. Merge main into your feature branch

Merging is another method to sync your feature branch with the main branch. This method retains the history of both branches, including the merge commit.

Steps to merge main into your feature branch

1. Fetch the latest changes from the remote repository:

   Terminal

   git fetch origin
   
   

2. Checkout your feature branch:

   Terminal

   git checkout your-feature-branch
   
   

3. Merge the main branch into your feature branch:

   Terminal

   git merge origin/main
   
   

   If there are any conflicts, Git will prompt you to resolve them. After resolving conflicts, complete the merge with:

   Terminal

   git commit
   
   

4. Push the merged branch to the remote repository:

   Terminal

   git push origin your-feature-branch
   
   

3. Reset to main (if you want to discard feature branch changes)

If you decide that your feature branch changes are not needed, you can reset your branch to match the main branch. This method discards all local changes.

Steps to reset to main

1. Fetch the latest changes from the remote repository:

   Terminal

   git fetch origin
   
   

2. Checkout your feature branch:

   Terminal

   git checkout your-feature-branch
   
   

3. Reset your feature branch to match the main branch:

   Terminal

   git reset --hard origin/main
   
   

4. Push the reset branch to the remote repository:

   Terminal

   git push -f origin your-feature-branch
   
   

For further reading on keeping your branch in sync with main, see this guide on rebasing in Git.