Working Safely with Branches

Why Branches Are Needed

What happens if something goes wrong while developing a new feature? If you worked directly on main, the original is broken.

Branches solve this. Keep the original (main) stable at all times and do new work on a separate copy (branch). If you are happy with the result, merge it. If not, just discard it.

main    ─────────────────────────────── (always stable)
              \                   /
feature        ──── work ──── done   (experimental)

Creating a Branch

Here is how to create a branch on the GitHub web interface.

1. On the repository main page, click the branch selector above the file list (default: main)
2. Type a new branch name in the text box: add-profile
3. Click Create branch: add-profile from 'main'

Branch naming conventions:

• Use lowercase and hyphens (-)
• Make the name describe what the branch does: fix-typo, add-dark-mode, update-readme

Editing Files on a Branch

After creating a branch, any changes you make are saved only to that branch.

1. Confirm you are on the add-profile branch (the branch selector shows add-profile)
2. Click README.md → click the pencil icon
3. Add content:

## About Me

- Name: John Doe
- Interests: coding, reading, cooking
- Goal: collaborate using GitHub

4. Commit changes → message: docs: add profile info
5. Select Commit directly to the add-profile branch

Comparing Branches

Check how main and add-profile differ.

1. Switch the branch selector back to main
2. Look at README.md — your added content is not there
3. Switch back to add-profile — the content is there

Branches are independent of each other.

Merging a Branch

Once your work is done, merge it into main. The next lesson covers this in detail with Pull Requests. For now, here is the quick approach.

1. Click the Pull requests tab at the top of the repository
2. Click New pull request
3. Confirm the settings: base: main ← compare: add-profile
4. Preview the diff
5. Create pull request → enter a message → Merge pull request

After merging, your changes are reflected in main.

"Why?" — Why Branches Are Essential for Teams

Working alone, you might not need branches. But on a team, they are essential.

While teammate A develops the login feature, teammate B works on the payment feature. If both commit directly to main, their code will conflict.

With branches:

• A works on the feature/login branch
• B works on the feature/payment branch
• Each finishes, gets reviewed, and merges into main

Parallel development without conflicts.

Deep Dive