GitHub Branch Merge Workflow ·

Table of Contents

Flowchart #

graph TD A[""" git switch -c dev git push -u origin dev """] A --> B[""" git add . git commit -m 'msg' git push """] B --> C[""" git switch main git pull """] C --> D[""" git merge dev """] D --> E{Merge conflicts?} E -- No --> F[""" git push """] E -- Yes --> G[""" git status git add src/app.js git commit -m 'msg' """] G --> F F --> H[""" git branch -d dev git push origin --delete dev """]

How to Merge Branch? #

Step 1 - Create a new dev branch

git switch -c dev       # Create and switch to the dev branch
git push -u origin dev  # Push dev to remote and set upstream (first push only)

Step 2 - Make changes on the dev branch
Edit your files normally, then stage and commit:
```
git add .
git commit -m "Your commit message"
```
Push updates to the remote:
```
git push  # Push to origin/dev (since upstream is set)
```

Step 3 - Merge dev into main

git switch main  # Switch to the main branch
git pull         # Update main (local branch) with the newest code from the remote repository, to ensure main is up-to-date
git merge dev    # Merge the dev branch into main

Step 4 - Handle merge conflicts (if any)
If No Conflicts, skip to Step 5.
If conflicts exist, resolve them:
```
git status  # Shows files with conflicts
```
Conflicted files (e.g. src/app.js) will be shown.
Open the file (e.g. src/app.js) to see a conflict block like this:
```
<<<<<<< HEAD
content from main branch
=======
content from dev branch
>>>>>>> dev
```
Replace the entire block with the final version you want (can be main version, dev version, or a custom combined version).
Then:
```
git add src/app.js
git commit -m "Resolve merge conflicts in app.js"  # Commit the fix
```
Step 5 - Push merged result
```
git push
```

Step 6. (Optional) Clean up dev

git branch -d dev             # Delete local dev branch
git push origin --delete dev  # Delete remote dev branch

When Do Merge Conflicts Occur? #

	Conditions	Result
Case 1	1. Create `dev` from `main` 2. Changes only in `dev` (none in `main`) 3. Merge `dev` → `main`	No conflicts
Case 2	1. Create `dev` from `main` 2. Changes only in `main` (none in `dev`) 3. Merge `dev` → `main`	No conflicts
Case 3	1. Create `dev` from `main` 2. Changes in both `dev` and `main` 3. Merge `dev` → `main`	Conflicts occur only if both branches modify the same or overlapping lines. Otherwise, no conflict.

Git Terminology #

	Local	Remote
Repository	Local repository: the Git repository stored on your computer. Local repository name: the folder name on your computer. Not important for Git internals.	Remote repository: the Git repository stored on a server (e.g., GitHub). Remote repository name: actual project name on GitHub (e.g., `myproject`). Accessed via a remote name (default: `origin`). Remote name: a local nickname for a remote repository URL (default: `origin`). It does not have to match the repository name.
Branch	Local branch: branch in your local repo (e.g., `dev`). Local branch name: name of that local branch.	Remote branch: branch stored in the remote repo, shown as `<remote-name>/<branch-name>` (e.g., `origin/main`, `origin/dev`). Remote branch name: name of that remote branch (same representation).