Branches let you experiment without breaking main.
- Create and switch to a branch
- git branch feature/readme-update
- git switch feature/readme-update # or: git checkout feature/readme-update
- Make a change and commit
- echo “More details” >> readme.txt
- git add readme.txt
- git commit -m “Expand readme”
- Switch back and merge
- git switch main # or: git checkout main
- git merge feature/readme-update
- Optional: create a conflict
- On main: change first line of readme.txt and commit
- On a new branch: change the same line differently and commit
- Merge into main and resolve conflicts in your editor, then:
- git add readme.txt
- git commit # completes the merge
Checklist
- New branch created and switched
- Changes merged into main
- You can resolve a simple conflict