Git Branching & Merging Cheatsheet

Branch Management

# Create and switch to new branch
git checkout -b feature/my-feature

# Create branch from specific commit
git branch bugfix/fix-login abc1234

# List all branches (local + remote)
git branch -a

# Delete merged branch
git branch -d feature/done

# Force delete unmerged branch
git branch -D feature/abandoned

# Rename current branch
git branch -m new-name

Merge vs Rebase

Resolving Merge Conflicts

# After a merge conflict:
# 1. Open conflicting files — look for markers:
<<<<<<< HEAD
your changes
=======
their changes
>>>>>>> feature/branch

# 2. Edit to resolve, then:
git add resolved-file.js
git commit

Common Branching Strategies

Git Flow

main → production, develop → integration, feature/* → new features, release/* → release prep, hotfix/* → urgent fixes

Trunk-Based Development

Everyone commits to main with short-lived feature branches. Requires good CI/CD.

GitHub Flow

main is always deployable. Create branch → commit → PR → review → merge → deploy.