Lesson 06 — Branching

Goal

Create a branch so you can work safely without changing main directly.

What a branch is

A branch is a separate workspace for a change.

Instead of editing main directly, create a branch for your work.

branch name	description
main	official shared version
your branch	your workspace for a proposed change

Local and GitHub view

A branch starts on your computer. It appears on GitHub after you push it.

Checklist

1. Start from main

Run:

git checkout main

or:

git switch main

• I am on main.

2. Pull the latest main

Run:

git pull

• My local main is up to date.

3. Create a new branch

For a SQL query documentation change, run:

git checkout -b analysis/clarify-visit-query

or:

git switch -c analysis/clarify-visit-query

• I created and switched to a new branch.

4. Confirm the current branch

Run:

git branch

The current branch has an asterisk next to it.

• I can identify my current branch.

5. Make and commit a change

Use the workflow from Lesson 04:

git status
git diff
git add queries/01-count-visits.sql
git commit -m "docs: clarify visit count query"

• I committed a change on my branch.

6. Push the branch to GitHub

Run:

git push -u origin analysis/clarify-visit-query

• My branch exists on GitHub.

Branch naming examples

docs/add-analysis-note
analysis/clarify-visit-query
metadata/define-visit-date
fix/correct-county-label

Use names that describe the change. Avoid branch names like updates, work, or stuff.

Completion check

• I can create a branch.
• I can switch branches.
• I can commit on a branch.
• I can push a branch to GitHub.
• I understand that a branch is safer than editing main directly.