GIT: Remote and local tracking branches

33.1. Remote tracking branches

Your local Git repository contains references to the state of the branches on the remote repositories to which it is connected. These local references are called remote-tracking branches.

You can see your remote-tracking branches with the following command.

# list all remote branches
git branch -r

To update remote-tracking branches without changing local branches you use the git fetch command. See Updating your remote-tracking branches with git fetch for more information.

It is safe to delete a remote branch in your local Git repository, this does not affect a remote repository. The next time you run the git fetch command, the remote branch is recreated. You can use the following command for that.

# delete remote branch from origin

git branch -d -r origin/[remote_branch]

33.2. Delete a remote branch

To delete the branch in a remote repository use the following command.

# delete branch in a remote repository

git push [remote] --delete [branch]

33.3. Tracking branches

Branches can track another branch. This is called to have an upstream branch and such branches can be referred to as tracking branches.

Tracking branches_ allow you to use the git pull and git push command directly without specifying the branch and repository.

If you clone a Git repository, your local master branch is created as a tracking branch for the master branch of the originrepository (short:_origin/master_) by Git.

You create new tracking branches by specifying the remote branch during the creation of a branch. The following example demonstrates that.

# setup a tracking branch called newbrach
# which tracks origin/newbranch
git checkout -b newbranch origin/newbranch

Instead of using the git checkout command you can also use the git branch command.

# origin/master used as example, but can be replaced

# create branch based on remote branch
git branch [new_branch] origin/master

# use --track,
# default when the start point is a remote-tracking branch
git branch --track [new_branch] origin/master

The --no-track allows you to specify that you do not want to track a branch. You can explicitly add a tracking branch with the git branch -u command later.

# instruct Git to create a branch which does
# not track another branch
git branch --no-track [new_branch_notrack] origin/master

# update this branch to track the origin/master branch
git branch -u origin/master [new_branch_notrack]

To see the tracking branches for a remote repository (short: remote) you can use the following command.

# show all remote and tracking branches for origin
git remote show origin

An example output of this might look as follows.

* remote origin
  Fetch URL: ssh://test@git.eclipse.org/gitroot/e4/org.eclipse.e4.tools.git
  Push  URL: ssh://test@git.eclipse.org/gitroot/e4/org.eclipse.e4.tools.git
  HEAD branch: master
  Remote branches:
    integration                tracked
    interm_rc2                 tracked
    master                     tracked
    smcela/HandlerAddonUpdates tracked
  Local branches configured for 'git pull':
    integration rebases onto remote integration
    master      rebases onto remote master
    testing     rebases onto remote master
  Local refs configured for 'git push':
    integration pushes to integration (up to date)
    master      pushes to master      (up to date)