Git

What is the Difference Between “git rebase master” vs. “git rebase origin/master”

In Git, the rebasing process combines or moves a repository’s sequence commits to a new base commit. In the case of a featuring branches workflow, the rebasing procedure can easily visualize and use by developers. Developers can perform it by utilizing the “git rebase” command.

The outcomes of this post are:

What is the Difference Between “git rebase master” vs. “git rebase origin/master”?

The “git rebase <remote-name>/master” command is utilized for rebasing the particular branch from the developer’s upstream “master” branch. On the other hand, the “git rebase master” command shows that users can rebase from the tracking branch of the remote URL “origin”.

How to Use “git rebase origin/master”?

Try the following instructions to use the above-listed command.

Step 1: Navigate to Root Directory

Type out the “cd” command with the root directory path and switch to it:

$ cd "C:\Users\nazma\Git"

Step 2: List Remote and Local Branches

Then, show all branches by utilizing the “git branch” command along with the “-a” flag for all:

$ git branch -a

Step 3: Verify Remote URL

Now, to ensure that the remote URL exists in the local repository for tracking purposes or not, execute the “git remote” command:

$ git remote -v

Step 4: Download GitHub Branches

Next, fetch the newest version of the GitHub branch locally, run the below-stated command:

$ git fetch

Step 5: Run ‘git rebase origin/master’

Finally, use the “git rebase” command along with the remote branch name:

$ git rebase origin/master

According to the following output, the “master” branch is up-to-date because we have merged the GitHub branch content into the particular local:

How to Use “git rebase master”?

To use the above-stated command, check the below-given steps.

Step 1: Check Remote URL

First, view the remote URL list by running the “git remote” command:

$ git remote -v

Step 2: Fetch Remote Repository Content

To fetch the GitHub repository, which is set as the remote URL, utilize the “git fetch” command:

$ git fetch

Step 3: Rebase Local Branch

Finally, execute the provided command to perform the rebase operation locally:

$ git rebase master

It can be observed that the local “master” branch is rebased successfully, and the HEAD reference is updated:

We have differentiated between the “git rebase origin/master” and “git rebase master”.

Conclusion

The “git rebase origin/master” command is used to rebase the desired branch from the developer’s upstream “master” branch. On the other hand, the “git rebase master” command indicates that developers can rebase from the tracking branch of the remote URL “origin”. This post elaborated on the “git rebase master” and “git rebase origin/master” commands.

About the author

Maria Naz

I hold a master's degree in computer science. I am passionate about my work, exploring new technologies, learning programming languages, and I love to share my knowledge with the world.