Branches

Why this matters

Branching is the operation you do most often after committing, and VS Code puts it one click away in the corner of the window. Knowing what that click does, and what it does with your unfinished work, makes branching a non-event.

The Status Bar control

The bottom left of the window shows the current branch, with a small branch icon. Clicking it opens a Quick Pick listing:

Typing filters the list, which matters in a repository with sixty branches.

Beside the branch name, a small sync icon shows the incoming and outgoing counts, and clicking it syncs (lesson 15.6).

What happens to uncommitted work

The rule is Git's, not VS Code's (lesson 6.3):

When it refuses, VS Code offers to Stash & Checkout, which stashes your work, switches, and leaves the stash for you to pop. That is the right answer most of the time, and it is worth knowing it happened: the work is in the stash, not lost, and git stash list proves it.

The habit that avoids the question: commit or stash before switching.

Publishing a branch

A new local branch does not exist on the server. After the first commit, the Source Control view shows Publish Branch, which is git push -u origin <branch>: it pushes and sets the upstream, so from then on Sync Changes knows where to go.

Signed in to GitHub or GitLab, publishing usually offers to open the merge or pull request page as well (lesson 15.8).

Comparing and merging

Merging from the editor is an ordinary merge: if it conflicts, the files appear under Merge Changes and the merge editor takes over (lesson 15.7).

The graph

The Source Control Graph, below the file lists, draws the history: one row per commit, with lines showing where branches diverged and merged. Clicking a commit shows its files; clicking a file shows that commit's diff.

It is the fastest way to answer "has my branch got the latest main?" without any commands: if your branch's line joins main's line above the last main commit, it has not.

How to do it

$ git switch -c docs/12-windows-install-steps
$ git switch main
$ git push -u origin docs/12-windows-install-steps
$ git branch -d docs/12-windows-install-steps

Common mistakes

• Creating a branch from the wrong starting point. Check the Status Bar before creating; use Create new branch from… when you need a different base.
• Forgetting to publish, then wondering why colleagues cannot see the branch.
• Accepting Stash & Checkout without noticing, then losing track of the stash. It is in … → Stash → Pop Latest Stash.
• Deleting a local branch that was never merged. VS Code will warn; the warning is information (lesson 12.9).
• Working on main because it was already checked out. The Status Bar says which branch you are on; read it.