Git Pull

While working with Git, you need to keep your local repository in sync with the latest changes made. This is where the git pull command comes in. By learning git pull, you can use the fetch and merge command to download changes from the remote repository.

We will also look at this command under the hood so that you know what is happening. Let’s get started with how git pull works.

How Git Pull Works

Git pull fetches changes from a remote server and merges them into your local repository. This is crucial for syncing your work with others during collaboration.

But what exactly does git pull do? Let’s break it down.

When we run git pull, a fetch is performed first. It fetches the newest changes from a remote repository but does not yet apply them to your local files.

Git pull, after the fetch process, will perform a merge operation. Then it integrates the changes fetched in step 1 into your local branch (pulling things identically up-to-date).

The merge automatically takes place if there are no conflicts. If there are any conflicts, Git will ask you to fix them before it completes the merge.

Let’s understand the differences between the fetch and pull commands in the following section.

Git Fetch vs. Git Pull

Although git pull and git fetch resemble each other closely, they are made for different purposes. When it comes to git fetch, there is a distinction here: While fetching the changes in your remote repository, it will disregard attempting to merge any of those modifications into your local repo. With it, you can check out the updates before any of them are merged.

In contrast, git pull is a command that not only fetches but merges as well, and your local branch will be updated right away. This makes git pull it faster, but at the same time more aggressive because it will go ahead and apply all the changes on top of your current local state.

Anyway, let’s understand how to combine fetch and merge in the following section.

Combining Fetch and Merge

git pull is simply a shortcut that combines two Git commands, fetch and merge. It links up with the remote repository, gets the latest changes from your remote branch, and then merges those updates into the current local repository.

The process of fetching from a source branch first and merging with the current local branch in the second step is easily handled by the git pull command to sync the latest changes to your project.

However, as it directly merges the changes from one branch to another, you should always tread with caution and be prepared for update conflicts.

Now, let’s move into the following part to understand the command syntax.

Basic Usage of Git Pull

To keep your work up to date, it is important that you know how to use the pull command correctly. Here, we will discuss the syntax and commands for using the pull command as well as a few every day possible cases where you might need to use it.

Git Pull Syntax and Commands

The pull command supports the ordinary Git syntax:

git pull [remote] [branch]

If you do not provide either the remote or the branch, then Git will use the default settings defined in your local repository.

Basic Git Pull Command Example

For instance, say you wish to fetch the latest changes from your remote repository named origin’s main branch. The syntax of the command is:

git pull origin main

With this command, Git will fetch the latest changes from the origin repository’s main branch and merge them into your current working branch.

Common Scenarios for Using Git Pull

With Git, you have two choices for how to incorporate changes from the remote repository when pulling, namely merge and rebase. Both have their pros and cons and are better used in different situations. We will differentiate between them and when to use git pull with rebase in the following section.

Git Pull with Rebase

Basic Command:It is simple, just run this command git pull --rebase. This can be achieved by adding the --rebase option to your pull command. Here’s how it works:

git pull --rebase

In this way, it fetches the latest changes from the repository (remote) and puts your local commits on top of those fetched changes.

Specifying Remote and Branch:If you wish to pull from an explicitly named remote branch, it can be done by specifying the name like this:

git pull --rebase origin main

Here, the command is used to fetch recent changes from the main branch of the origin remote repository and rebase your local changes over it.

Handling Conflicts with Git Pull Rebase

Conflicts in a rebase work the same way as conflicts during any other type of merge. In this case, Git will stop the rebase and ask you to resolve conflicts by yourself. Assuming you have resolved the conflicts, continue rebasing using:

git rebase --continue

If at some point you decide that, no rebase is needed here, then you can just abort using:

git rebase --abort

Automatic Rebasing

To avoid this, and always use rebase when pulling by default, you can tell git to do so in your configuration with:

git config --global pull.rebase true

When you do a pull command next time, it will use rebase by default instead of merge.

So, in the following part, you will understand the difference between the merge with pull command and the rebase command. let’s move on.

Git Pull with Merge vs. Git Pull and Rebase

Git Pull Merge:When you execute a pull command, it incorporates the changes from a remote repository into the current branch.

This means that it pulls in the latest changes from the remote repository and makes a new commit that merges these changes into your current branch. This keeps the history of both branches, but it can be quite a mess in your commit history, especially when there are multiple merge commits.

Rebase:This, on the other hand, erases your commit history too. Known as history rewriting, it reapplies your local commits on top of the changes from the remote branch instead of creating a merge commit.

This creates a linear commit history that is cleaner and simpler. But as rebase is a history rewriting operation, it needs to be handled properly so that issues like losing commits are prevented inadvertently.

But when and what do you have to use the pull command with rebase? let’s answer this question in the section below.

Using Pull with Rebase: When and Why

Clean History:If you like a clean commit log where tree contents are never interleaved with your commits, git pull --rebase will execute every commit from origin while allowing zero divergences into the original upstream.

It is particularly helpful in projects where transparency of commit history counts, like open-source projects or teams with a diligent code review process.

Keep Merge Commits Clean:If you observe too many merge commits or have a hard time understanding the way code changes are diffused into the mainline, rebase can help keep your branches clean with a linear commit history.

When you rebase, it will put your changes at the tip of what is in the master without adding any extra merge commits.

Small, Frequent Commits:If you work on a lot of small frequent commits, this can make it easier to integrate these changes whilst keeping your commit history clean and devoid of merge comments.

FAQs

Which Git Pull Merge or Git Pull Rebase Do We Have to Use to Keep Our Commit History Clean?

Using git pull rebase: By default, Git has the behavior of generating merge commits, as shown below. But if you want to keep your history cleaner and linear without any extra noise from this type of commit, you should use rebase.

Disadvantages of Git Pull Merge

However, one downside of using Git Pull Merge is that it can really clutter your commit history with merge commits, making things harder to follow when looking back on them in the project’s future.

What does Git Pull Rebase do with commit history?

Git Pull Rebase combines your non-pushed local commits with incoming modifications from the remote branch and rewrites the commit history in a single line.

What are the risks with Git Pull Rebase?

The main downsides of using the Pull Rebase command would be losing commits by accident during the rebase and the complexities that come with resolving conflicts on a rewritten history.

Is it possible to lose commits while using Git Pull Rebase?

Git Pull Rebase is safer because it helps prevent losing commits, but it can still have similar effects if not handled carefully, especially when dealing with deletions or conflicts.

how does Git Pull Rebase create a linear commit history?

The command git pull --rebase achieves this by merging all the remote changes directly into your branch, discarding merge commits, and allowing a single linear history.

When to Choose Git Pull Merge for Developers?

In cases where they want to retain the history of both branches or maintain a linear approach without rewriting the code base, developers may choose Git Pull Merge over Git Pull Rebase.

How can developers ensure a smooth rebase operation, making sure nothing breaks down?

To have a successful rebase, developers should commit or stash changes before rebasing, resolve conflicts diligently, and pull updates on a daily basis so that the chances of conflicts are reduced.

When would you want to do a Git Pull Merge instead of doing a Git Pull Rebase?

Use Git Pull Merge when working on collaborative projects where preserving the history of both branches is necessary, or when it’s too complex to merge in one go and you need to ensure no important commits are lost.

Let’s summarize it.

Wrapping Up

Working with Git, you need to keep your local repository up-to-date with the latest changes. This is where the git pull command comes into play. It pulls changes from a remote repository to your local branch and merges the pulled changes, which is inevitable in collaboration.

The process begins with fetching changes from the remote repository and then merging them into the local branch. In case of conflicts, Git will ask you to resolve them before it can complete the merge.

However, the git fetch command is different from the git pull. It also brings down all of the latest changes and newest code. Git pull does this all at once: fetch followed by a merge. It saves you some typing and is faster than doing the two steps separately. But we know what happens with merging. It can give us conflicts!

To get the same benefit, you could use git pull with the rebase option to replay your local commits on top of the changes that are fetched, resulting in a cleaner commit history.

It has a simple command syntax, and correctly using the commands is very critical for good collaboration without conflicts. Knowing when to use merge or rebase with git pull will allow you to control your commit history based on what you need in a particular project.

Thank you for reading. Happy Coding!