How to use the command 'git push' (with examples)

The ‘git push’ command is used to send commits from a local repository to a remote repository. It is an essential command in Git that allows you to publish your local changes and collaborate with others.

Use case 1: Send local changes in the current branch to its default remote counterpart

Code:

git push

Motivation: This command is used when you want to push your local changes to the default remote repository. It is helpful when you have made several commits and want to publish them.

Explanation: The command ‘git push’ without any arguments will send the commits from the current branch to its default remote counterpart. It identifies the current branch and its associated remote branch automatically.

Example output:

Enumerating objects: 3, done.
Counting objects: 100% (3/3), done.
Delta compression using up to 4 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (2/2), done.
Writing objects: 100% (2/2), 231 bytes | 231.00 KiB/s, done.
Total 2 (delta 1), reused 0 (delta 0)
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (1/1), completed with 1 local object.
To https://github.com/username/repository.git
   abc123..def456  main -> main

Use case 2: Send changes from a specific local branch to its remote counterpart

Code:

git push remote_name local_branch

Motivation: This command is used when you want to push the changes from a specific local branch to its remote counterpart. It is helpful when you are working on a feature branch and want to publish your changes to the remote repository.

Explanation: In this command, ‘remote_name’ represents the name of the remote repository where you want to push the changes, and ’local_branch’ represents the name of the local branch whose changes you want to push.

Example output:

Enumerating objects: 5, done.
Counting objects: 100% (5/5), done.
Delta compression using up to 4 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (3/3), done.
Writing objects: 100% (3/3), 695 bytes | 695.00 KiB/s, done.
Total 3 (delta 1), reused 0 (delta 0)
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (1/1), completed with 1 local object.
To https://github.com/username/repository.git
   abc123..def456  feature_branch -> feature_branch

Use case 3: Send changes from a specific local branch to its remote counterpart and set the remote one as the default push/pull target of the local one

Code:

git push -u remote_name local_branch

Motivation: This command is used when you want to push changes from a specific local branch to its remote counterpart and set the remote branch as the default push/pull target for the local branch. It is helpful when you want to streamline your workflow by automatically pushing and pulling from the right remote branch.

Explanation: The ‘-u’ flag stands for ‘set-upstream’. By using this flag, the command updates your local branch’s tracking information to the specified remote branch. This means that future ‘git push’ and ‘git pull’ commands will automatically use this remote branch.

Example output:

Enumerating objects: 2, done.
Counting objects: 100% (2/2), done.
Writing objects: 100% (2/2), 231 bytes | 231.00 KiB/s, done.
Total 2 (delta 1), reused 0 (delta 0)
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (1/1), completed with 1 local object.
To https://github.com/username/repository.git
   abc123..def456  feature_branch -> feature_branch
Branch 'feature_branch' set up to track remote branch 'feature_branch' from 'remote_name'.

Use case 4: Send changes from a specific local branch to a specific remote branch

Code:

git push remote_name local_branch:remote_branch

Motivation: This command is used when you want to push the changes from a specific local branch to a specific remote branch. It is helpful when you want to update an existing remote branch with the changes from your local branch.

Explanation: In this command, ‘remote_name’ represents the name of the remote repository where you want to push the changes, ’local_branch’ represents the name of the local branch whose changes you want to push, and ‘remote_branch’ represents the name of the remote branch where you want to push the changes.

Example output:

Enumerating objects: 3, done.
Counting objects: 100% (3/3), done.
Delta compression using up to 4 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (2/2), done.
Writing objects: 100% (2/2), 231 bytes | 231.00 KiB/s, done.
Total 2 (delta 1), reused 0 (delta 0)
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (1/1), completed with 1 local object.
To https://github.com/username/repository.git
   abc123..def456  local_branch -> remote_branch

Use case 5: Send changes on all local branches to their counterparts in a given remote repository

Code:

git push --all remote_name

Motivation: This command is used when you want to push changes from all local branches in your repository to their counterparts in a given remote repository. It is helpful when you want to publish all your local branches at once.

Explanation: The ‘–all’ flag is used to push all local branches to the remote repository. By specifying ‘remote_name’, you can define the remote repository where the changes will be pushed.

Example output:

Enumerating objects: 8, done.
Counting objects: 100% (8/8), done.
Delta compression using up to 4 threads
Compressing objects: 100% (5/5), done.
Writing objects: 100% (5/5), 1.00 KiB | 1.00 MiB/s, done.
Total 5 (delta 2), reused 0 (delta 0)
remote: Resolving deltas: 100% (2/2), completed with 2 local objects.
To https://github.com/username/repository.git
   abc123..def456  branch1 -> branch1
   abc123..def456  branch2 -> branch2
   abc123..def456  branch3 -> branch3

Use case 6: Delete a branch in a remote repository

Code:

git push remote_name --delete remote_branch

Motivation: This command is used when you want to delete a branch in a remote repository. It is helpful when you no longer need a branch and want to clean up the remote repository.

Explanation: By using the ‘–delete’ flag, you can delete the specified ‘remote_branch’ in the ‘remote_name’ repository.

Example output:

To https://github.com/username/repository.git
 - [deleted]         remote_branch

Use case 7: Remove remote branches that don’t have a local counterpart

Code:

git push --prune remote_name

Motivation: This command is used when you want to remove remote branches that don’t have a local counterpart. It is helpful when you want to synchronize your local and remote repositories and remove any unnecessary branches.

Explanation: The ‘–prune’ flag removes remote branches that no longer have a corresponding local branch. By specifying ‘remote_name’, you can define the remote repository from which the branches will be removed.

Example output:

Pruning origin
URL: https://github.com/username/repository.git
 * [pruned]           remote_branch1
 * [pruned]           remote_branch2

Use case 8: Publish tags that aren’t yet in the remote repository

Code:

git push --tags

Motivation: This command is used when you want to publish tags that haven’t been pushed to the remote repository yet. It is helpful when you want to make your tags available to others.

Explanation: The ‘–tags’ flag pushes all local tags that haven’t been pushed to the remote repository. It is useful for sharing tag information with others.

Example output:

Total 0 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0)
To https://github.com/username/repository.git
 * [new tag]         v1.0.0 -> v1.0.0
 * [new tag]         v1.1.0 -> v1.1.0
 * [new tag]         v1.2.0 -> v1.2.0

Conclusion:

The ‘git push’ command is a versatile command that allows you to publish your local changes to a remote repository. It offers flexibility in pushing changes from specific branches, setting up tracking branches, deleting remote branches, and more. By understanding the various use cases of ‘git push’, you can effectively collaborate with others and manage your repositories.