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Pushing changes to a Git Repository

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Pre-requisites: Git, GitHub

Git allows performing various operations on the Repositories including the local repositories and remote repositories. The user when downloads a project to work on, a local repository is created to store a copy of the original project. This local repository stores the changes that are being made by the user. This way, the user can edit the changes before adding them to the main project. Multiple users can perform work on the same project at the same time by using local repositories. Performing operations on these local repositories will not make any changes to the original project. The changes will remain at the user’s end in the local repositories. This will reduce the creation of multiple copies on the central server. So, how will the changes get reflected in the main project? Git provides tools to interact with the central repository using your local repository. Git provides a git push command to make changes in the central repository. This command will add the most recent commits done on the local repository into the central repository. Similarly, git pulls and git fetch commands are used to clone the most recent changes done on the central repository with the local repository. 

About Git Push

 After the user is done with the modifications in the Local repository, there is a need to push these changes to the remote repository. This can be done with the git push command. Users can define which branch is to be pushed into the repository by passing its name as an argument. By default, the data will be pushed from the current branch into the same branch of the remote repository. 

git push

 

Pushing Changes To A Branch In Git

 Pushing to the central repository can be done along with the use of certain attributes that can be used to perform multiple push operations on the repository. These attributes can be used to perform specific pushes on the repository. These are:

  • –force: When the push command is unable to perform the task and the user has to either Rebase the branch or Merge the branches together. To overcome this problem there exists another git command called forcing the push. 

Syntax:

$ git push <remote> --force
  • One must be very careful while using the –force command for pushing changes because to prevent the user from losing History, a non-fast-forward push method is rejected. The user will have to perform a Merge operation on the branch and later push the changes into the repository.
  • –all: When there are multiple branches that are being used to perform work on the project by a specific user. The user can push whatever branch is required, into the central repository according to their needs. If there’s a need to push these changes all at once, i.e. the user wants to push all the branches into the central repository together, then this command comes into use.

 Syntax:

$ git push <remote> --all
  • –tags: Tagging is the method of marking specific points in a git repository as being important. These tags are created by the user in the local repository and are needed to be pushed into the central repository for others to see. When the user pushes the changes to the central repository using the push command, these tags do not get pushed along. The user has to push these changes separately. This can be done by using the –tags

Syntax:

$ git push <remote> --tags
  • This command will push all the tags at once. There’s a more preferred way to push tags, i.e. pushing tags one by one. This can be done by passing the tag name along with the push command. 

Syntax:

$ git push <remote> <tag-name>
  • –delete: Sometimes a user wants to delete a local or a remote branch from the current version of the project. This can be done by using the –delete command. 

Syntax:

$ git push <remote> --delete <branch-name>
  • This command can also be used to delete a tag from the repository. This can be done by using the tag name along with the delete command. 

Syntax:

$ git push <remote> --delete <tag-name>

Push Commits To a Git Repository

By following the below steps we can push the commit to the git repository.

Step 1: Make sure that your local and  Git repositories are up.

Step 2:Stage the modified files using the command line below.

git add .

(.) represents all the untracked files. If you want to move a specific file then you can the following command.

git add <name of the file>

Step 3: Commit the staged files into the local repository using the following command. Provide a commit message that details the changes you made and is descriptive.

git commit -m "message"

Step 4: Push the commit to the remote repository from there other developers can access the code. Use the following command.

git push <Renote URL>

In the event that conflicts arise during the push, resolve them manually before going through steps 2 and 4 again to push the modifications.

Note: You must have the required access and permissions before you can push your commits to a Git repository.

Push Commits To a CodeCommit In Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Follow the steps mentioned below to push the commit to CodeCommit in Amazon Web Services (AWS):

Step 1: Make sure that you have permission to access the CodeCommit in Amazon Web Services(AWS).

Step 2: Use the below command you can clone the repository needed to your local repository.

git clone <HTTPS or SSH URL>

Step 3: Stage the modified files using the command below (git add).

git add .

(.) represents all the untracked files. If you want to move a specific file then you can the following command.

git add <name of the file>

Step 4: Commit the staged files into the local repository using the following command. Provide a commit message that details the changes you made and is descriptive.

git commit -m "message"

Step 5: To push changes to code commit us the following command

git push <Remote URL> 

The remote URL should be in the format shown below.

https://git-codecommit.[region].amazonaws.com/v1/repos/[repository-name].

Example: To push commits to the CodeCommit repository.

git push <AWS Code Commit URL>

Step 6: Repeat the above 3rd and 5th step if you face any problems like merge conflicts.

If you encounter any conflicts during the push, resolve them manually, and then repeat steps 3 to 5 to push the changes again.

By following the above steps you are now able to push the files into CodeCommit. Where the other developers can access them.

Renaming Branches

We can rename the branches in many ways. Below are some methods to do this.

1. You can use the below command along with the -m option, along with the old branch and new branch name. As shown below.

Commands: 

git branch -m <old-branch> <new-branch>

By doing this, the old branch name will be changed to a new branch name.

2. If you want to change the name of the current working branch, first you have to switch the branch first, after that rename the branch. As shown below.

Commands: 

This will switch to the some-other-branch branch.

git checkout <branch name>

Above command will rename the old branch to the new branch.

git branch -m <old-branch> <new-branch>

3. If you have a remote branch with the same name as the branch you’re trying to rename, you’ll need to push the new branch name to the remote repository and delete the old branch name on the remote repository. You can do this with the following commands:

Commands:

The following command deletes the old branch on the remote repository.

git push origin :<old-branch>

The following command pushes the new branch to the remote repository.

git push origin <new-branch>

The above-mentioned are some methods by which we can change the name of your branches.

Pushing Tags

You can push the tags to the git repository in multiple ways. some of them are mentioned below.

1. Below command will help you to push the tags into the repository. Shown in below. 

Example: 

If you want the tag named v5.5.5 to the remote repository, You can use the below command.

git push --tags v5.5.5

2. Without giving a tag name, you can use the —tags option to push all tags at once, as seen below:

git push --tags

3. As you push the tags you need to fetch the tags too. For fetching the tags from the remote repository to the local machine use the below command.

git fetch --tags

Note: Pushing tags differs from pushing commits in several ways. Tags are only identifiers that link to a particular commit; they have no bearing on the repository’s history. Pushing a tag simply instructs the remote repository to add a new reference to that particular commit.

Deleting a Remote Branch or Tag 

We can delete the branches by using different methods. Some of them are discussed below.

1. To delete a branch in the git remote repository we can use the git push with the help of the –delete option followed by the branch remote branch name. Like the example shown below.

git push --delete origin my-branch

2. To delete a remote tag in Git, you can use the same command with the tag name instead of the branch name. As shown in the example below.

git push --delete origin v5.5.5

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. Does Git Commit Push The Changes To Remote?

Answer: 

Yes, git push will push all the commits in the local repository to the remote branch.

2. Can We Push Without Committing?

No, Before pushing into remote repository you must have to make the commit into your local repository.



Last Updated : 20 May, 2023
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