How to Switch and Check Out Branches in Git (Checkout & Switch)

Git provides two commands for switching branches: git switch (added in Git 2.23) and the classic git checkout. Both work — git switch is recommended for new users because it has a single, clear purpose, while git checkout is still widely used and supports additional operations like restoring files.

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Switching to a Local Branch

The most common operation: make an existing branch your current working branch.

# Modern (Git 2.23+)
$ git switch other-branch

# Classic
$ git checkout other-branch

To quickly jump back to the previously checked-out branch, use - as the branch name:

$ git switch -
$ git checkout -

Creating and Switching to a New Branch

Both commands can create a new branch and switch to it in a single step:

# Modern
$ git switch -c new-branch

# Classic
$ git checkout -b new-branch

You can also base the new branch on a specific starting point — another branch, a tag, or a commit:

$ git switch -c hotfix v2.1.0
$ git switch -c bugfix main
$ git switch -c experiment abc1234

Checking Out a Remote Branch

You cannot switch to a remote branch directly — Git requires a corresponding local branch that tracks the remote one. First, make sure your local repository knows about the remote branch:

$ git fetch origin

Then create a local tracking branch from the remote:

# Modern: Git detects the remote branch automatically and sets up tracking
$ git switch newsletter

# Classic: explicit syntax
$ git checkout --track origin/newsletter

Either way, Git creates a local branch named newsletter that tracks origin/newsletter. From then on, git pull and git push work without any extra arguments.

Use git branch -r to list all remote-tracking branches and find the exact name to use:

$ git branch -r
origin/main
origin/newsletter
origin/feature-xyz

git switch vs. git checkout

Both commands can switch and create branches, but they differ in scope:

The key advantage of git switch is clarity: it only handles branch operations, reducing the risk of accidentally overwriting files when you meant to switch branches.

# These two are equivalent:
$ git checkout -b new-feature
$ git switch -c new-feature

# These two are equivalent:
$ git checkout -f other-branch
$ git switch --discard-changes other-branch