Tower Help & Support

Creating a New Local Branch

Creating new local branches in Tower is quick & easy. There are multiple different ways to create a new local branch:

  • drag an existing ref item (a local or remote branch or tag) and drop it onto the BRANCHES section header in the sidebar
  • press ⌘ + B
  • right-click an existing branch in the sidebar and select Create New Branch from <name>…
  • right-click a commit item in a history view and select Create New Branch from <commit hash>…
  • click the + button on the bottom left of the sidebar and select Create New Branch… from the contextual menu.

Set up the new branch in the following dialog:

  • Name
    The new local branch's name. Must be a valid Git ref name.
    Grouping Branches
    The "/" character in a branch's name can be used to simulate folders. This is a naming convention in Git and is respected in Tower, where such items are displayed as collapsible folders in the sidebar.
  • Starting Point
    The commit or branch that the new branch shall be based on.
  • Track Branch
    The new branch can be configured to track the base branch. Read more about tracking connections.
  • Check Out Branch
    The new branch can be directly checked out as the new HEAD branch. Read more about checking out branches.