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title titleSuffix description ms.assetid ms.service ms.topic ms.date monikerRange ms.subservice
Create a new Git branch from the web
Azure Repos
Learn about Git branches and how to create a new branch in your local Git repo, Azure Repos Git repo, and GitHub.
13783230-7762-4fd0-b392-5187c7f9fe1e
azure-devops-repos
how-to
10/19/2022
<= azure-devops
azure-devops-repos-git

Create a new Git branch

[!INCLUDE version-lt-eq-azure-devops] [!INCLUDE version-vs-gt-eq-2019]

The first commit in a new Git repo is the start of the main branch. As you work in the main branch, you make commits to record your work in that branch. Branching in Git occurs when you create a new line of development that diverges from a prior branch. You might choose to create a new branch to develop and test a new feature before adding it to your main branch. The recommended Git workflow is to use a new branch for every feature or bugfix. When you switch between branches, Git almost instantly switches the version of your repo files to match the branch you selected. Your commits are always saved to the current branch, and are isolated from commits in other branches.

For an overview of the Git workflow, see Azure Repos Git tutorial.

Prerequisites

[!INCLUDE azure-repos-prerequisites]

Create a new branch

Note

Branch names can't contain ASCII control characters, such as spaces, tildes, and colons. It's common practice to use lowercase characters and to separate words with a hyphen. Forward slashes can be used to group branches. Branch name length shouldn't exceed 250 ASCII characters. To avoid ambiguity between branch names and commit hashes, don't use branch names that consist of 40 hexadecimal characters. For more information on branch naming, see git-check-ref-format and Git cross-platform compatibility.

Browser

::: moniker range=">= azure-devops-2020"

You can create branches in Azure Repos Git repos, GitHub repos, or other hosted Git repos.

Azure Repos

  1. From your web browser, open the team project for your Azure DevOps organization, and then choose Repos > Branches to open the Branches view.

    :::image type="content" source="media/create-branch/browser/azure-repos/repos-branches.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the Azure DevOps project page with the Repo menu expanded.":::

  2. In the Branches view, choose New branch to launch the Create a branch dialog.

    :::image type="content" source="media/create-branch/browser/azure-repos/new-branch.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the 'New branch' button on the Azure DevOps repo page.":::

  3. In the Create a branch dialog, enter a unique new branch name, select a base branch for your new branch, optionally link work items, and then choose Create.

    :::image type="content" source="media/create-branch/browser/azure-repos/create-branch.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the 'Create a branch' dialog.":::

    Your new branch shows up in the branch list.

    :::image type="content" source="media/create-branch/browser/azure-repos/branch-list.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the branch list that shows your new branch.":::

GitHub

From your web browser, navigate to the main page of your GitHub repo, select a base branch to launch the Switch branches/tags dialog, enter a unique new branch name, and then choose Create branch.

:::image type="content" source="media/create-branch/browser/github/create-branch.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the 'Switch branches/tags' dialog on the main page of a GitHub repo.":::

The main page of your repo now shows the files in your new branch.

:::image type="content" source="media/create-branch/browser/github/created-branch.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of your new branch files on the main page of a GitHub repo.":::

::: moniker-end

Tip

After you've created a remote branch, you can fetch it into your local Git repo. At the command prompt, run:
git fetch
git switch <remote branch name>

Visual Studio 2022

Visual Studio 2022 provides a Git version control experience by using the Git menu, Git Changes, and through context menus in Solution Explorer. Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8 also offers the Team Explorer Git user interface. For more information, see the Visual Studio 2019 - Team Explorer tab.

[!INCLUDE Create branch]

Visual Studio 2019 - Git menu

Visual Studio 2019 provides a Git version control experience by using the Git menu, Git Changes, and through context menus in Solution Explorer.

[!INCLUDE Create branch]

Visual Studio 2019 - Team Explorer

Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8 and later versions provides a Git version control experience while maintaining the Team Explorer Git user interface. To use Team Explorer, uncheck Tools > Options > Preview Features > New Git user experience from the menu bar. You can use Git features from either interface interchangeably.

  1. In Team Explorer, select the Home button and choose Branches.

    :::image type="content" source="media/create-branch/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/branches.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot showing the Branches option in Team Explorer in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/create-branch/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/branches-lrg.png":::

  2. Right-click the default branch, often named main, and then choose New Local Branch From

    :::image type="content" source="media/create-branch/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/new-local-branch-menu.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the 'New Local Branch From' menu option in the context menu of the main branch in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/create-branch/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/new-local-branch-menu-lrg.png":::

  3. Enter a descriptive branch name to let others know what work the branch contains. Select Create Branch.

    :::image type="content" source="media/create-branch/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/new-local-branch.png" border="true" alt-text="Screenshot of the branch name text and 'Create Branch' button in Visual Studio 2019." lightbox="media/create-branch/visual-studio-2019/team-explorer/new-local-branch-lrg.png":::

Git Command Line

To create a new branch, use the git branch command. This command doesn't switch your current branch to the new branch.

git branch <new branch name>

To switch to a branch, use the git checkout command.

git checkout <existing branch name>

To create and switch to a branch in one command, use the git checkout command with the -b flag.

git checkout -b <new branch name>

Tip

You can also use git switch <existing branch name> to switch to a new branch. Or, to create and switch to a new branch in one command, use git switch -c <new branch name>.

Next steps

[!div class="nextstepaction"] Share code with push

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