What is a Remote Branch in Git? How to Check out Remote Branches from GitHub

Git, the ubiquitous version control system, has become an indispensable tool in modern software development. A 2021 survey by GitLab found that 92% of professional developers use Git, with 81% using it daily. One of the key features that makes Git so powerful for collaboration is its branching model, particularly the concept of remote branches.

In this in-depth guide, we‘ll explore what remote branches are, how they differ from local branches, and how to effectively use them in your development workflow. Whether you‘re a seasoned full-stack developer or just starting out with Git, understanding remote branches is crucial for collaborating smoothly with your team and contributing to projects hosted on platforms like GitHub.

Why Use Branches?

Before diving into remote branches specifically, let‘s take a step back and consider why using branches is considered a best practice in software development.

Branches allow developers to:

• Work on features, bug fixes, and experiments in isolation without affecting the main codebase
• Develop in parallel and collaborate asynchronously with team members
• Iterate and refine changes before integrating them into production code
• Roll back changes easily if something goes wrong
• Implement structured workflows like Git Flow or GitHub Flow

According to the 2021 State of Software Development Report by Coding Sans, using branches was the #1 most adopted software development best practice, with 79% of teams reporting they use feature branches for every change.

Branches provide a safe, isolated environment for development and experimentation. They enable teams to work on multiple features or fixes simultaneously without stepping on each other‘s toes. By keeping work-in-progress changes separate from the main codebase, branches reduce risk and make it easier to manage the complexity of a project as it scales.

Local vs Remote Branches

Git is a distributed version control system, meaning that every developer has a complete copy of the repository on their local machine. This allows for a fluid workflow where changes can be made offline and pushed to a central repository when ready.

In Git, branches can be categorized as either local or remote:

Branch Type	Scope	Use Case
Local	Exists only on your local machine in your copy of the repository	For making changes that are not yet ready to share with the team
Remote	Exists in a remote repository hosted on a server	For sharing changes with team members and integrating with others‘ work

Local branches are where the day-to-day development work happens. You create a local branch, make commits, and test changes in your local environment without affecting the rest of the team. Once your work is ready to share, you push your local branch to the remote repository, which creates or updates a corresponding remote branch.

Remote branches reflect the state of the repository on the remote server. They are "read-only" from your local perspective – you cannot make commits directly on a remote branch. Instead, you create a local tracking branch that is associated with the remote branch, make your changes there, and then push your local changes to update the remote branch.

Creating and Pushing Local Branches

Before you can collaborate on a remote branch, you first need to create a local branch and push it to the remote repository. Here‘s how:

1. Create a new local branch and switch to it:

   git checkout -b new-feature

   This creates a branch called new-feature based on your current branch (usually main or master) and checks it out.

2. Make changes, stage, and commit them locally:

   git add .
   git commit -m "Implement new login page"

3. Push the local branch to the remote repository:

   git push -u origin new-feature 

   The -u flag sets up a tracking relationship between the local and remote branch so that git pull and git push know which branches to sync in the future.

Your local new-feature branch will now be available on the remote repository (referred to as origin by convention) for other collaborators to check out and work with.

Working with Remote Branches

Fetching Remote Branch Data

Before you can work with a remote branch, you need to download its latest data to your local repository using git fetch:

git fetch origin

This retrieves the current state of the origin remote, including any new branches and commits, without modifying your local branches. You can think of it like refreshing your view of the remote repository.

According to the 2021 GitHub Octoverse report, there were over 61 million active repositories on GitHub as of December 2021, with over 25 million active users. Fetching regularly ensures you have an up-to-date view of the remote repository and can collaborate effectively with this growing developer community.

Viewing Available Remote Branches

To see a list of all remote branches after fetching:

git branch -r

The output will look something like:

origin/HEAD -> origin/main
origin/new-feature 
origin/bugfix-123

Each line represents a branch on the remote prefixed with the remote‘s name (origin/).

Checking Out a Remote Branch

While you can view and inspect remote branches, you cannot make changes directly on a remote branch. Instead, you need to create a local "tracking" branch that is associated with the remote branch.

To check out a remote branch into a new local branch:

git checkout -b new-feature origin/new-feature

This creates a local branch new-feature that "tracks" the origin/new-feature remote branch. Any commits you make will be on the local new-feature branch until you push them to update the remote branch.

You can also use the --track flag to create a local tracking branch with the same name as the remote branch:

git checkout --track origin/new-feature

Note: If you try to check out a remote branch without creating a local tracking branch first, you‘ll end up in a "detached HEAD" state. This means your HEAD (the pointer to your current branch) is not attached to a named branch, but rather directly to a commit. While you can make commits in a detached HEAD state, they will be lost if you switch branches. It‘s generally best practice to always create a local tracking branch when working with a remote branch to avoid losing work.

Making Changes and Pushing to Remote

Once you have a local tracking branch checked out, you can develop as normal by modifying files, staging changes and making commits:

git add login.js
git commit -m "Add remember me checkbox to login"

To share your changes with the rest of the team, simply push your local branch which will update its linked remote branch:

git push

Since you previously set up the tracking relationship, Git knows to push the local new-feature to origin/new-feature.

If another collaborator has pushed changes to the same remote branch in the meantime, Git may refuse the push until you integrate their changes by pulling and merging the remote branch into your local tracking branch first:

git pull
# Resolve any merge conflicts if necessary
git add .
git commit -m "Merge remote changes"
git push

This ensures that your local branch stays up to date with the latest changes on the remote branch and that you don‘t overwrite someone else‘s work accidentally.

Remote Branches and Pull Requests

Remote branches play a key role in the pull request workflow that is popular on platforms like GitHub and Bitbucket. A pull request is a way to propose changes from a remote branch and request that they be merged into another branch (often the main branch).

Here‘s a typical workflow:

1. Create a new local branch for your feature or fix
2. Push the local branch to the remote to create a remote branch
3. Open a pull request from your remote branch to the main branch
4. Discuss the changes with your team and make additional commits as needed
5. Once approved, merge the pull request to integrate your changes into the main branch
6. Delete the remote branch (and your local tracking branch) to keep the repository clean

Pull requests provide a structured way to review and discuss changes before merging them. They also keep the main branch stable by ensuring that changes are only integrated after they have been vetted and approved.

Remote branches make pull requests possible by allowing developers to share their proposed changes with the team without modifying the main branch directly. They provide an isolated space for collaboration and iteration.

Remote Branch Best Practices

While remote branches enable seamless collaboration, there are some best practices to keep in mind:

1. Keep branches focused and short-lived: Resist the temptation to have sprawling, long-running branches. Instead, keep branches focused on specific features or fixes and aim to merge them back into the main branch as soon as they are complete. This reduces the risk of merge conflicts and makes it easier to keep the main branch stable.

2. Use descriptive names: Give your branches clear, descriptive names that reflect their purpose. Avoid generic names like fix or feature. Instead use names like login-page-redesign or issue-123-email-validation-error. This makes it easier for your team to understand the intent behind each branch.

3. Delete stale branches: Once a remote branch has been merged and is no longer needed, delete it to keep the repository clean and avoid confusion. You can do this on the command line with:

   git push origin --delete stale-branch

   Or via the GitHub web interface.

4. Communicate with your team: Let your team know when you create or update a remote branch, what it‘s for, and when it‘s ready for review or merging. Use pull requests as a formal way to propose and discuss changes. The 2021 State of the Octoverse report found that open source repositories with pull request templates received 21% more pull requests and 15% more contributors than those without.

5. Follow a branching strategy: Consider adopting a structured branching strategy like Git Flow or GitHub Flow to standardize how your team uses branches. These strategies provide guidelines for when to create branches, how to name them, and how to merge them back into the main branch. Following a consistent strategy can help reduce confusion and ensure a smooth development process.

GUI Tools for Managing Remote Branches

While the command line is the most flexible and powerful way to work with Git, some developers prefer to use graphical user interface (GUI) tools to visualize and manage their repositories.

Here are a few popular GUI tools that support working with remote branches:

• GitHub Desktop: The official desktop client for GitHub provides a simple interface for cloning repositories, creating and managing branches, and collaborating via pull requests.
• GitKraken: A cross-platform Git client with a slick interface for visualizing branch structures, managing remote repositories, and resolving merge conflicts.
• Sourcetree: A free Git client from Atlassian that offers a visual way to interact with your Git repositories, including remote branch management.
• Fork: A fast and friendly Git client for Mac and Windows that provides a clean interface for working with remote branches and pull requests.

These tools can be a helpful complement to the command line, especially for developers who are new to Git or who prefer a more visual workflow.

Conclusion

Remote branches are a fundamental part of Git‘s distributed collaboration model. They allow developers to share and integrate changes with team members through a remote repository hosted on a platform like GitHub.

By following best practices like keeping branches focused, using descriptive names, and communicating with your team via pull requests, you can leverage remote branches to collaborate effectively and ship high-quality code.

Whether you prefer the command line or a GUI tool, mastering remote branches is an essential skill for any developer working with Git. With the steps and concepts outlined in this guide, you‘re well on your way to becoming a Git branching pro!