Creating a new local branch
New local branches are created via Create Branch dialog which can be started in three ways:
-
from the Team menu group in the context menu of the project in the project explorer:
-
from GIT Repositories view:
or
-
from the History view:
Create Branch dialog
To create a new branch, please follow these steps.
Step 2. Enter
the name of the local branch you want to create.
You can create a local branch that is based on some source branch (in this case, you have to click Select... and choose the necessary branch in the opened window):
Most developers use remote tracking branches as a source for their local ones but in theory, you can base your local branch on any branch or commit in the repository. However, it is better not to select local branches to be a source one if you work with a remote repository.
Local branches can be based not only on other branches but also on commits.
To base a local branch on a commit, you need to start the Create Branch dialog in the History view↑ by right-clicking the necessary commit:
In this case, the Create Branch dialog is shorter as you have only to specify the name of the branch and choose whether to check it out or not.
Step 3. Configure
upstream for push and pull.
Upstream configuration is useful if you work with remote repositories, especially, for pulling.
Here three options are
available:
- if you leave the option unchecked (by default), then upstream will get no specific configuration for pulling. In this case, pull will use configurations set for the corresponding remote tracking branch if your new local branch is based on it or will try to use configurations of a default remote (a remote called origin) if it exists;
- if you choose Merge upstream commits into local branch, changes will be fetch from upstream and the remote tracking branch will be updated when pulling. After this, your local branch will be merged with the new changes (this behavior is the default one for all local branches based on remote tracking branches but it can be overriden by specific configurations of the corresponding repository);
- if you choose Rebase commits of local branch onto upstream, changes will be fetch from upstream and the remote tracking branch will be updated when pulling. After this, your local branch will be rebased onto the updated remote tracking branch.
