How to Delete Local and Remote Branches in Git: A Complete Guide

TLDR;

Deleting a Local Branch in Git

To delete a local branch, use one of these commands:

• Safe deletion: git branch -d <branchName>

• Force deletion: git branch -D <branchName>

Deleting a Remote Branch in Git

To delete a branch from a remote repository (like GitHub or GitLab):

git push origin --delete <branchName>

Local Branch vs. Remote Branch in Git

Understanding the difference between local and remote branches is crucial for working with Git effectively.

Local Branch

• Location: Exists only on your machine.

• Purpose: For individual development; changes here won’t affect other developers. It’s where you do your day-to-day development and changes.

• You can create, delete, and modify it without affecting other developers.

• Command to List Local Branches: git branch

Remote Branch

• Location: Exists on a remote server (e.g., GitHub, GitLab).

• Purpose: For collaboration; changes here are accessible to the team, allowing multiple people to work on the same branch.

• You need to fetch or pull changes from the remote to sync it with your local branch.

• Command to List Remote Branches: git branch -r

Key Differences Between Local and Remote Branches

Understanding with an example

Let’s walk through a practical example.

Step 1: Cloning the Repository

Let us clone a basic repo from GitHub

 git clone git@github.com:TvisharajiK/sample.git

#git shows the below 
Cloning into 'sample'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 3, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (3/3), done.
remote: Total 3 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0 (from 0)
Receiving objects: 100% (3/3), done.

Navigate to the cloned directory and check the available branches:

cd sample
git branch -a
* main
  remotes/origin/HEAD -> origin/main
  remotes/origin/main

Currently, we have only the main branch in the sample repository.

Step 2: Working with Local Branches

Let's create a local branch named try

$ git checkout -b try
Switched to a new branch 'try'

Deleting the Feature Branch

Now, try to delete the try branch using the -d option:

$ git branch -d try    
error: Cannot delete branch 'try' checked out at '/Users/tvisharaji/sample'

You’ll encounter an error since you cannot delete the currently checked-out branch.

Switching to the Main Branch

Switch to the main branch to delete try:

$ git checkout main
Switched to branch 'main'

Now, delete the try branch again:

$ git branch -d try
Deleted branch feature (was 3aac499)

Deleting a Local Branch With the -D Option

Let’s recreate the try branch and make some changes:

$ git checkout -b try
$ echo "trying this" >> README.md
$ git add README.md
$ git commit -m 'Add to README'

Attempting to delete the branch with -d again, it will show an error because it contains unmerged changes:

$ git branch -d try
error: The branch 'try' is not fully merged.

Force Deletion

To force delete the branch, use:

$ git branch -D try
Deleted branch try (was 4a87db9)

Understanding Local Branch Deletion

It’s important to note that using -d or -D will only remove the local branch; any corresponding remote branch will remain unaffected.

Deleting a Remote Branch

To delete a remote branch, use one of the following commands:

For Git versions 1.7.0 and later:

git push origin --delete <branchName>

Creating and Pushing a Remote Branch

Let’s create a tryrem branch, make some changes, and push it to the remote repository:

$ git checkout -b tryrem
$ echo "trying for the Remote branch" > remote.txt
$ git add remote.txt
$ git commit -m 'Add remote.txt'
$ git push origin tryrem

Deleting the Remote Branch

To remove the remote tryrem branch:

$ git push origin --delete tryrem

After executing this command, the remote branch is deleted, but your local branch will still exist.

Conclusion

In this article, we explored how to delete local and remote branches in Git. Here’s a quick summary:

• Delete a local branch: git branch -d <branchName> or git branch -D <branchName> for force deletion.

• Delete a remote branch: git push origin --delete <branchName>

FAQ

What command do I use to delete a local branch in Git?

• To delete a local branch safely, use:

    bashCopy codegit branch -d <branchName>
  

  To force delete a local branch, use:

    bashCopy codegit branch -D <branchName>
  

How do I delete a remote branch in Git?

• To delete a remote branch, use one of the following commands:

    bashCopy codegit push origin --delete <branchName>
  

  or

    bashCopy codegit push origin :<branchName>
  

What is the difference between a local branch and a remote branch?

• Local Branch: Exists on your machine only; used for individual development without affecting others. Commands to manage local branches include git branch to list them.

• Remote Branch: Exists on a remote server (e.g., GitHub or GitLab); used for collaboration. Changes to remote branches affect all collaborators. Use git branch -r to list remote branches.

Can I delete a branch that I’m currently on?

• No, you cannot delete the branch you are currently checked out on. You must switch to another branch (e.g., main) before deleting the desired branch.

What happens if I try to delete a branch that has unmerged changes?

• If you attempt to delete a local branch with unmerged changes using the -d option, you will receive an error. To forcefully delete the branch, you can use the -D option.

What are the consequences of deleting a local branch?

• Deleting a local branch with -d or -D only affects your local repository. The corresponding remote branch will remain intact unless explicitly deleted.

How can I verify if a branch has been deleted successfully?

• To check if a branch has been deleted:

  • For local branches, use:

      bashCopy codegit branch
    

  • For remote branches, use:

      bashCopy codegit branch -r
    

What is the process for creating and pushing a new branch to a remote repository?

• To create and push a new branch to a remote repository:

    bashCopy codegit checkout -b <newBranchName>
    git push origin <newBranchName>