Git Push Command and How to Use It

The ‘git push command’ helps you upload local repository changes to a remote Git repository
Here, in this blog, we will learn what the Git Push command is, and why it is important, along with how we can perform it practically.

Table of Contents:

• What is a Git Push Command?
• Why Is Git Push Command Important?
• How to Use Git Push Command with Examples
• How to Push a New Git Branch to a Remote Repository?
• Git Push Usage
• Using GitHub Desktop to PUSH your local content to GitHub.

What is a Git Push Command?

Once you’ve committed the required changes to your local project, like adding new features, fixing bugs, or updating the existing code, you can use the git push command to update these changes to the remote repository. Changes would be visible to every individual who has access to this repository.

Why is Git Push Command Important?

Mainly, there are four primary Git Commands  (git clone, git fetch, git pull, and git push) used to interact with remote repositories, although the Push Git Command stands out, as it is responsible for publishing local commits. It’s essential to check the current status of your working directory using “git status” before pushing changes to ensure everything is staged and ready. Additionally, running the “Git Pull” command before using “Git Push” helps minimize the chances of any merge conflicts, as it synchronizes the local branch with the remote branch. To learn more about pulling, please refer to the article: Pull Branch in Git.

Git push plays a key role in providing a collaborative environment for developers. It provides your team with the latest code access as it transfers your local commits to a remote repository. This maintains real-time team collaboration, version control across environments, and acts as a cloud backup for all your projects on Git. Without the git push command, your local edits will remain isolated and inaccessible to the rest of your team or development environment. Here’s an image to show you before and after “push” in a repository.

How to Use Git Push Command with Examples

To understand the working of the git push branch command, let’s consider a straightforward git push command example. 

Suppose you are a member of a large development team and have cloned the entire project to your local machine using Git. After working on a feature or addressing an issue, you commit those changes locally. However, those updates exist solely on your device. 

To enable your teammates to view or build upon your work, you must upload those changes to the shared remote repository. This is where the git push command plays a crucial role, as it transfers your local modifications to the remote repository, making them accessible to everyone else.

You will have to perform the following steps before using git push command:

git init

Using the git add command, we can add all of the necessary local files to the git repository. The command for the git add is:

git add .

Finally, we must save the changes we make to the staging area so that they can be pushed straight away to the remote repository.

git commit -m "commit message"

Now, before we actually push the committed changes to the remote repository, let’s understand what a remote repository is.

What is Remote Repository?

In simple terms, it is a Git repository on the server rather than your local machine. Just as your computer has its own file folders and files, a remote server also has its version of the project, which you access through the Internet.

GitHub is one example where remote repositories are stored. When you upload your code to a place like GitHub, other people can see what you’ve done. If your project is public, other developers can make suggestions for improvement or even contribute themselves. This approach makes it easier to work together and collaborate with others on a project without having to send files back and forth manually.

Note: The git fetch and git pull commands are counterparts to the git push branch command.

Assuming that you have one remote repository, now we must set up the connection between the local and remote repository. To add the remote server, use the command git remote add “remote-URL”.

git remote add origin -URL

The git remote -v command will also check to see whether you’ve previously inserted the remote.

git remote -v

The final step is to use the command git push -u origin “branch-name” to sync our local repository with the server. Here’s the command to push a local branch onto the remote:

git push -u origin "branch-name"

Note: We can even change the name of our master or main branch using the command – git branch -M main if it is not the main branch currently. Not only this, you can have multiple branches in the local as well as in the remote repository. So let’s understand the concept of branching.

What is Branching and Why We Need It?

At some point in this blog, you may wonder what a branch is and why we use it, so let’s take a minute to understand it. 

A branch is a different path within a project that allows you to work on modifications without affecting the main version. It is useful when you want to add a new feature or fix something, but don’t want to disrupt what is already operating. Multiple updates can be developed concurrently, and once completed, they can be integrated back into the main project. 

We can also say it is as if we’re working in the main or master branch by default, if no particular branches are defined.

So, if we’re on the main branch, all we need is git push. You should also run git status here to see what’s in your working area before you send local changes to the remote repository.

How to Push a New Git Branch to a Remote Repository?

To get started, first off, you’ll have to create a new branch apart from the default master or main branch and have your work committed to it.

This can be done using:

To create a branch:

git branch branch-name

Example: If, for instance, your new branch is named Intellipaat, then the command becomes:

git branch Intellipaat

To make this branch the current branch:

git checkout -b branch-name

Example: git checkout Intellipaat

Once your changes are complete and committed, you can push that branch to the remote so others can see it by using git push origin command with branch name.

git push origin branch-name

Example: git push origin Intellipaat

By doing so, you are further facilitated to make your local branch on the remote available for collaboration or merging into other branches.

Git Push Usage

Let’s look at a few different ways the “git push command to branch” is used.

1. git push

This is the most common git command to push to GitHub. You use it to push your changes from a specific branch to a remote site like GitHub. Once you are done with this, it creates a copy on the remote side. Git does not need to worry about commits that are already there, so nothing is duplicated by accident.

2. git push –force

This one is invaluable when you have been rewriting your local history. You don’t have to worry about pushing these changes into an already existing remote, even if they do shift its structure. Since this command can overwrite any work that has already been done, it should be used only at your discretion and only after you have made sure that it won’t cause problems for others.

3. git push –all

Use this command when you have many local branches and want them all up-to-date in one click on the remote side. This may well be necessary if you’re working with large numbers of parallel branches

4. git push –tags

Tags in Git are like bookmarks or labels that mark specific points in a project’s timeline and are often used to show releases like v1.0, v2.0, and so on. They aren’t sent to the remote automatically, so you need this command if you want others on your team to share the benefits of being able to see such visible milestones.

Using GitHub Desktop to PUSH your local content to GitHub.

Available for any operating system, GitHub Desktop provides a graphical interface frontend to push your local content (from your local repository) to a remote repository such as GitHub.

You need to put your GitHub account in the browser, and the process of creating a new repository, that is step 1, is above “Using Command line to PUSH to GitHub.”

1. Click on “Set up in a Desktop environment”.Then, anytime you would like to use GitHub Desktop + Git Bash. You need to click on the button, as shown below, where a pop-up occurs, & you click “Open GitHub desktop” 

2. Cloning in GitHub Desktop

You can click the Clone button, as revealed below. 

After cloning a new clone, the folder is created in your local computer where a hidden directory.git also is present.

3. Copy all necessary files from your local computer to the clone folder on your computer.

You need to copy all the needed files, images, README files, etc., to the clone folder.

4. Go to GitHub Desktop and commit main line.

You can see that the files that are added to the clone folder are visible in GitHub Desktop as well. 

Finally, write your message and push Commit to main.

5. Publish the branch in GitHub Desktop so as to upload all of your files to GitHub. 

You can click on Publish Branch to publish all your local content onto GitHub.

When you have done all the steps, you can see your repository on GitHub

Now, you have practically performed git commit and push command.

Conclusion

Using git push to send your changes to the remote repository is the natural part of working in Git. The command git push allows you to bring any revisions you’ve made locally to the remote repository so that other people using the same server can share in your hard work. In this blog, you learnt various git commands for pushing code.

You may be contributing to a team or simply working on your project, but how and when to use these git commands for pushing code affects much more than just the commands. We hope this blog helped you push your changes to the intended repository. With proper usage, you’ll be able to collaborate effectively, avoid problems, and keep the entire version history of your project clean and uncluttered.

Git Push Branch Command- FAQs