Git Pull vs Git Fetch: What’s the Difference and When to Use Each

The main difference between git fetch and git pull is in what they do with the changes from the remote repository. git pull takes changes from the remote repository and puts them directly into your working directory, so your files are updated right away. 

Git fetch is different. It only downloads the changes into your local Git repository, but it does not touch your working files. This means you can look at the changes first before deciding to merge them into your work.

To fully understand this, let’s know how Git is set up on your computer and how it stores changes on it. In this blog, we are going to see what Git Pull is, what Git Fetch is, and what the difference is between the two.

Table of Contents:

• Git Fetch vs Git Pull: Quick Answer
• What is Git Pull?
• What is Git Fetch?
• Git Pull vs Git Fetch: Key Differences
• Git Fetch vs Git Pull Commands
• When to Use Git Fetch vs Git Pull
• Git Pull vs Git Fetch Workflow Diagrams
• Git Fetch vs Git Pull Command Reference
• Common Mistakes with Git Fetch and Git Pull (and How to Avoid Them)
• Best Practices for Git Fetch and Git Pull
• Troubleshooting Git Fetch and Git Pull Issues
• Conclusion

Git Fetch vs Git Pull: Quick Answer

What is Git Pull?

Imagine two teammates working in the same repository on a server. Both of them start by running git clone to make a copy of that repository on their own computers. Now each has a local copy of what is on the server.

They are both working in the same branch, called main. Suppose one teammate finishes first, commits the changes, and pushes them to the server. The main branch on the server now has these new changes, but the other teammate’s local copy does not.

To get these changes from the server, the second teammate can use git pull. This works because they already have a reference to the main branch. The pull will update their local branch with the latest commits from the server. But there is something to be careful about. If both have made changes to the same files, there could be conflicts. These conflicts need to be fixed before the pull can finish.

What is Git Fetch?

The setup is the same, but this time each teammate is working in a separate branch. One creates a branch for their work, and the other does the same. Suppose one teammate finishes first, commits, and pushes their branch to the server. The server now has a new branch that is not in the other teammate’s local copy.

If the second teammate wants to review that code, they cannot pull it directly because they do not have a local reference to that branch. In this case, they can run git fetch. This will download all branches from the server that are not in their local copy.

After fetching, they can check out the teammate’s branch and review the code. There will be no conflicts because it is a new branch that has no changes in common with its own branch.

Git Pull vs Git Fetch: Key Differences

Let’s see more differences between git fetch vs git pull.

1. Side-by-side comparison table

2. Merge behavior explained

When you run git pull, Git first does a git fetch in the background to get the changes, and then it automatically merges those changes into your current branch. If both your branch and the remote branch have edits to the same lines, merge conflicts can happen, and you will need to fix them before continuing.

When you run git fetch, no merge is done. You get the changes in your local Git repository, but they stay separate until you decide to merge them manually.

3. Local vs remote changes

Local changes are the edits you make in your own working directory and branches. Remote changes are the edits pushed to the repository on the server by you or other teammates.

• git pull will bring remote changes into your local branch immediately.
• git fetch will bring remote changes into your local Git repository, but will not put them in your branch until you merge them yourself.

4. Safety and workflow impact

git fetch is safer when you want to check for updates without changing your current work. It gives you a chance to review code, compare changes, or run tests before merging.

git pull is faster when you are ready to sync your branch with the latest remote updates right away, but it can disrupt your work if there are conflicts or unexpected changes.

Git Fetch vs Git Pull Commands

Understanding the syntax and options for git fetch and git pull helps you use them the right way in different situations.

Git Fetch

git fetch <remote> <branch>

• <remote> is usually origin (the default name for the remote repository).
• <branch> is the branch you want to fetch.
• If you leave out the branch name, Git fetches updates for all branches from that remote.

Example:

git fetch origin main

This gets the latest changes from the main branch on origin into your local repository, but does not change your working files.

Git Pull

git pull <remote> <branch>

• This runs git fetch first, then merges the changes into your current branch.
• If you leave out the branch name, Git pulls updates for the branch you are currently on.

Example:

git pull origin main

This gets the latest changes from the main branch on origin and merges them into your current branch, updating your working files immediately.

Using –all with Git Fetch

git fetch --all

• Fetches updates from all remotes (not just origin).
• Useful when you work with multiple remotes or forked repositories.
• Still does not update your working files until you merge.

Using –rebase with Git Pull

git pull --rebase

• Instead of merging the fetched changes, Git rebases your current branch on top of the updated remote branch.
• This keeps your commit history cleaner and avoids unnecessary merge commits.
• Common in projects that prefer a linear commit history.

Example:

git pull origin main --rebase

This fetches the latest main branch changes and reapplies your commits on top of them.

Other Useful Flags and Options

For Git Fetch

• —prune: Removes remote-tracking branches that no longer exist on the remote.

git fetch --prune

• —depth <n> : Fetch only the latest <n> commits (useful for large repositories).

git fetch --depth 1

For Git Pull

• —no-commit: Merges changes without committing right away, letting you review changes first.

git pull --no-commit

• —no-ff: Forces Git to create a merge commit, even if it could fast-forward.

git pull --no-ff

When to Use Git Fetch vs Git Pull

Scenarios Where Git Fetch Is Useful

Use git fetch when you want to see the latest changes from the remote repository without touching your current work. It is the safer choice because nothing in your working files changes until you decide to merge.
Some situations where fetch is better:

• Checking for updates before starting new work, so you know what has changed on the server.
• Reviewing a teammate’s branch before merging it into yours.
• Avoiding conflicts when you are in the middle of a task and do not want new changes to disrupt your files.
• Inspecting new branches or tags added to the remote repository.

Scenarios Where Git Pull Is Better

Use git pull when you are ready to update your branch with the latest changes right away. It is faster because it fetches and merges in one step.
Some situations where pull is better:

• Syncing your branch with the latest updates before starting work.
• Getting urgent fixes from the remote repository that you need immediately.
• Working in a fast-paced team where everyone pushes updates often, and you want to stay current.
• Small, frequent updates where the chance of conflicts is low.

Real-World Examples in Team Projects

Example 1: Safer with Git Fetch
A developer is halfway through building a new feature. The team lead pushes changes to the main branch. Instead of pulling right away and risking conflicts, the developer runs git fetch to see what changed. After finishing the feature, they merge the fetched changes into their branch.

Example 2: Faster with Git Pull
A team is fixing a bug in production. The lead pushes the fix to the main branch. Other developers run git pull immediately, so their local branches have the fix without extra steps.

Git Pull vs Git Fetch Workflow Diagrams

Understanding how git fetch and git pull work is easier with a visual workflow. These diagrams illustrate the step-by-step process that occurs inside Git when you run each command.

Visual Representation of Git Fetch

• When you run git fetch:
• Git connects to the remote repository.
• It checks for any new commits, branches, or tags that are not in your local Git repository.
• Git downloads these updates into your local repository’s remote tracking branches (like origin/main) but does not change your working directory or your current branch.

Simple view of Git Fetch:

This means your local repo is updated with the latest information from the server, but your working files remain exactly as they were.

Visual Representation of Git Pull

• When you run git pull:
• Git first does the same steps as git fetch; it connects to the remote repository and downloads any changes.
• It then automatically merges those changes into your current branch in your working directory.

Simple view of Git Pull:

If your local branch and the remote branch both changed the same parts of a file, this merge step can cause conflicts that you will need to fix before completing the pull.

By looking at these workflows, you can see why git fetch is safer when you want to check for changes first, and git pull is better when you want to update your work immediately.

Git Fetch vs Git Pull Command Reference

Common Mistakes with Git Fetch and Git Pull (and How to Avoid Them)

1. Accidental Overwrites After Pull

The Mistake:
A developer runs git pull without checking local changes. If they have uncommitted edits, Git may try to merge the pulled changes, sometimes overwriting local work or creating a mess of conflicts.

How to Avoid It:

• Always run git status before pulling.
• If there are local changes, either commit them or stash them with git stash first.
• For extra safety, use git fetch first, review the changes, and then decide to merge or rebase.

2. Fetch Not Updating Branches

The Mistake:
A developer runs git fetch but doesn’t see any updates in their working files and thinks it’s broken. In reality, fetch only downloads updates—it doesn’t merge them into the current branch.

How to Avoid It:

• After fetching, check updates with git log origin/<branch> or git diff origin/<branch>.
• If they want the new changes locally, they need to merge (git merge origin/<branch>) or rebase after fetch.
• Remember: git fetch is for previewing; git pull is for applying.

3. Merge Conflicts After Pull

The Mistake:
A developer runs git pull, and Git stops with a message saying there’s a merge conflict. This happens when both the local and remote branches have changes in the same part of a file.

How to Avoid It:

• Always Fetch first, then check what’s changed using git diff.
• And Pull more frequently to reduce the chance of conflicts building up.
• When conflicts do happen, use a merge tool (git mergetool) or manually edit the files, then git add and git commit to finish the merge.

Best Practices for Git Fetch and Git Pull

1. Safe Workflows for Teams

When working in a team, the safest habit is never to pull without knowing what’s coming in. Instead of directly running git pull, first run:

git fetch

This way, the new updates are downloaded from the remote repository without touching local changes.

• Review what’s changed using git diff or git log.
• Merge or rebase only after confirming the changes won’t break your work.

Why this works:
It prevents surprise overwrites and reduces merge conflicts, especially when multiple developers are editing the same files.

2. Keeping Branches Up-to-Date Without Conflicts

To avoid painful conflicts:

• Pull or fetch often so your branch stays close to the remote version.
• Commit or stash your work before pulling to ensure your changes are safe.
• If you’re working on a feature branch, regularly rebase it on the main branch to keep it aligned.

Example:

git fetch origin main
git rebase origin/main

This keeps history clean and avoids big, messy merges later.

3. Combining Fetch with Merge or Rebase

A smart workflow is:

• Fetch the latest changes from the remote:

git fetch origin

• Merge them into your branch (keeps both histories):

 git merge origin/<branch>

 or

• Rebase onto the updated branch (linear history, cleaner logs):

git rebase origin/<branch>

When to merge: When you want to preserve all history as it happened.
When to rebase: When you want a cleaner, straight history without extra merge commits.

Troubleshooting Git Fetch and Git Pull Issues

1. “Ref not found” Error

What it means:
This usually happens when you try to fetch or pull a branch that doesn’t exist on the remote repository. Maybe it was deleted, renamed, or you typed the branch name wrong.

How to fix:

• Check the exact branch name using:

git branch -r

• Make sure you’re spelling the branch name correctly.
• If the branch was deleted on the remote, remove it locally:

git branch -d branch-name
git fetch --prune

2. Fetch or Pull Not Showing Changes

What it means:
You ran git fetch or git pull, but nothing seems to update. This usually means your branch is already up to date, or you’re on the wrong branch.

How to fix:

• Verify your current branch:

git branch --show-current

• Compare with the remote branch:

git fetch

git diff origin/

• If you’re tracking the wrong branch, set the correct upstream:

  git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/

3. Slow Fetch/Pull Operations

What it means:
Sometimes fetching or pulling takes forever, especially in large repositories or with a slow network.

How to fix:

• Use shallow fetch to download only the latest history:

git fetch --depth=1

• Fetch only the branch you need:

git fetch origin 

• Make sure your internet connection is stable and fast.

• Occasionally, prune old references to speed up operations:

git fetch --prun

Conclusion

Choosing between Git fetch and Git pull comes down to how much control you want over updates.

• Git fetch is like checking your mailbox; it downloads the latest changes from the remote but doesn’t touch your local work. You can review the changes first and decide when (and how) to merge them.
• Git pull is like checking your mailbox and immediately putting the new letters into your files; it fetches and merges in one step, updating your branch right away.
  

If you want to play it safe and avoid surprise conflicts, use git fetch first. If you’re confident and just want your branch fully up to date fast, go with git pull. Knowing the difference helps you keep your code in sync without breaking your workflow.

Git Pull vs Git Fetch: What’s the Difference and When to Use Each – FAQs