Git & GitHub Interview Question #37

What is a remote-tracking branch?

Remotes, Fetch, Pull, Push, Merge, Conflicts, Rebase & Stash Junior Beginner

Quick Interview Answer

A remote-tracking branch is a local reference that records Git's last known state of a branch in a remote repository. Names such as origin/main and origin/develop are common examples.

Detailed Explanation

A remote-tracking branch is a local reference that records Git's last known state of a branch in a remote repository. Names such as origin/main and origin/develop are common examples.

You do not normally commit directly to origin/main. Your local main branch and the origin/main remote-tracking reference are separate references that may point to different commits until synchronization occurs.

Code Example

git fetch origin
git branch -r

git log --oneline main..origin/main