Git - Origin Master

Git is a popular version control system used by developers to manage and track changes in their code. Among the many concepts in Git, git origin master is fundamental, especially for those who are new to Git or looking to understand best practices for managing repositories. In this article, we’ll break down what git origin master means, how to use it, and why it’s important for your development workflow.

What is git origin master?

In Git, origin and master are two critical terms that you'll encounter frequently:

• Origin: This is the default name given to the remote repository from which you cloned your local repository. It acts as a shorthand reference for the URL of your remote repository.
• Master: This is the default name for the main branch in your repository. In many projects, this branch contains the stable and production-ready version of the code.

Git - Origin

Let's see how Origin and Master are used in Git projects. Origin in simple words means from where something is originated or derived.

• Origin is simply the name given to any remote repository available on GitHub.
• Whenever we need to push the changes to a remote repository, we use git push along with the remote repository "origin" and "master" branches. The term used is "git push origin master".
• To pull the changes from the remote repository to local, we use git pull along with remote repository "origin" and "master" branch. The term used is "git pull origin master".

When cloning the remote repository to local, we use "git clone" command  and pass the URL for the remote repository as below

The "git remote" command is used to show the remotes mapped to git remote repository

Git remote -v: Shows all the remote connections linked to a git repository. It shows fetch and push operations on a remote repository as below

Git - Master

Master is the name of a default branch in git terminology. Whenever a new repository is created in git, git gives the default name to a branch as 'Master'.

• When a new repository is initialized using "git init" command, git creates a single branch by default such as the "Master" branch.
• When multiple developers collaborate on a single feature/development work, developers create a pull request to merge the changes to master branch. After the review is done by the senior developer, changes are merged to the master branch.
• The Master branch is the most up-to-date branch and has production-ready code.

Now, let's initialize a new git repository using the "git init" command as follows:

Now run the "Git Branch" command and check that we have a single branch in a remote repository which is 'main' or 'master' branch as below:

Check the Github page and see that there is the only branch, i.e the main branch as below depicted as follows:

Origin/Main in Git

Since Origin and Master are two different terminologies in Git but we might get confused when we see Origin/master in git context

• Origin/master is a remote-tracking branch.
• This branch exists in our local and tracks the remote repository 'origin' and branch 'master'.
• Branch in format "remote-name/remote-branch-name" is a remote-tracking branch

Since origin/master is a branch. Below is the process to merge the origin/master to master branch on remote origin

Step 1: Fetch the remote branch 'master' from remote 'origin'. Master branch would be fetched to local and local copy would be called as origin/master

git fetch origin master

Step 2: Then merge the 'origin/master' to 'master'

git merge origin/master

Step 3: Finally, now push the changes from remote branch 'master' to remote 'origin'

git push origin master

Best Practices for Using git origin master

1. Keep master Stable: Ensure that the master branch always contains stable and production-ready code.
2. Regular Pulls: Frequently pull changes from origin master to keep your local repository up-to-date.
3. Use Branches: Work on features and fixes in separate branches, and merge them into master only when they’re ready.