How to Create a Branch in Git: Local and Remote

Git makes creating and managing branches very easy. In fact, the power and flexibility of its branching model is one of the biggest advantages of Git!

You can create local branches on your machine to develop new features or work on bug fixes. Afterwards, you can publish them to any remote hosting service, such as GitHub or BitBucket, to allow your teammates to collaborate.

How Do I Create a New Branch and Start Working on It?

The fastest way to create a new branch and switch to it in one command is to use git switch -c:

$ git switch -c <new-branch>

This creates a new branch based on your current branch and switches to it immediately. If you're using a Git version older than 2.23, you can use the classic equivalent:

$ git checkout -b <new-branch>

Both commands do the same thing: they create a new branch and switch to it in a single step. The -c stands for "create" and -b stands for "branch."

Visual example:

Before:                          After:

main ● ─ ─ ─ ● ─ ● (HEAD)        main ● ─ ─ ─ ● ─ ●
                                                      \
                                          new-branch   ● (HEAD)

How Do I Create a New Branch Based on the current HEAD without Switching to It?

If you just want to create a branch without switching to it, use the git branch command with the branch name:

$ git branch <new-branch>

How Do I Create a New Branch Based on Some existing One?

If you want to base your new branch on a different existing branch and switch to it, use:

$ git switch -c <new-branch> <base-branch>

Or with the classic syntax:

$ git checkout -b <new-branch> <base-branch>

If you only want to create the branch without switching to it, use:

$ git branch <new-branch> <base-branch>

How Do I Create a New Branch from a Specific commit?

If you want to start your new branch based on a specific commit (not a branch), then you can provide the commit hash as the starting point:

$ git branch <new-branch> f71ac24d

How Do I Create a New Branch from a Specific tag?

You can also base your new branch on a specific tag you already have in your repository:

$ git branch <new-branch> v1.2

How Do I Create a New Branch from a remote Branch?

To create a new local branch based on a remote branch, use:

$ git switch -c <new-branch> origin/<base-branch>

Or with the classic syntax, which automatically names the local branch after the remote:

$ git checkout --track origin/<base-branch>

To create the branch without switching to it, use git branch --track:

$ git branch --track <new-branch> origin/<base-branch>

How Do I Create a New Branch in a Remote Repository?

Git does not allow creating a branch directly on a remote. Instead, you create a local branch first and then push it to publish it on the remote:

$ git push -u origin <local-branch>

The -u flag establishes a tracking connection between your local branch and the new remote branch. From that point on, you can run plain git push and git pull without specifying the remote or branch name — Git looks up the tracking relationship automatically.

To verify the remote branch was created, list your remote-tracking branches:

$ git branch -r

How Do I Create a Feature Branch?

A feature branch is simply a regular branch you create to develop a specific feature in isolation. Create it from your main development branch:

$ git switch -c feature/user-authentication main

Or use the classic syntax:

$ git checkout -b feature/user-authentication main

Common naming conventions for feature branches:

• feature/description — e.g., feature/login-page
• feature/issue-number — e.g., feature/issue-42
• bugfix/description — e.g., bugfix/header-alignment

Visual example:

main       ● ─ ● ─ ● ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ● (merge)
                    \           /
feature/login        ● ─ ● ─ ●

For a deeper look at feature branch workflows and team collaboration patterns, check out Working with Feature Branches.

How Do I Create a Branch on GitHub?

1. Go to your repository on GitHub
2. Click the branch dropdown (shows your current branch)
3. Type your new branch name
4. Click "Create branch: from main" (or your current branch)

For more details on publishing a local branch from the command line, see the section above on creating remote branches.

The "git branch" Command Reference

The git branch command handles creating, deleting, and listing branches. Here are its most useful options:

-a -v — Lists all branches (local and remote) with their latest commit hash and message:

$ git branch -a -v
* main          609d1ee New icons for "teams" page
  feature/login 82a0f21 Add test cases
  remotes/origin/main 609d1ee New icons for "teams" page

--no-merged / --merged — Filters branches by merge status relative to your current HEAD:

$ git branch --no-merged    # branches with unintegrated changes
$ git branch --merged       # branches already merged in — safe to delete

-d <branch> / -D <branch> — Deletes a branch. Use -d for branches that are fully merged (Git refuses if not); use -D to force-delete regardless:

$ git branch -d feature/login feature/newsletter

<new-branch> [<start-point>] — Creates a new local branch, optionally from a specific commit:

$ git branch feature/logout b84f02e

Learn More

• Check out the chapter Branching can Change Your Life – Desktop GUI edition in our free online book
• Find the full command reference in the Git documentation