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

Suggested Quiz

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5 Questions

What does the term origin represent in a Git project?

• A

  The default local branch name

• B

  The remote-tracking branch

• C

  The default name of the remote repository URL

• D

  The production-ready branch

Explanation:

In Git, origin is the default name automatically assigned to the remote repository from which a project is cloned. It acts as a shortcut for the remote URL, making commands like git push origin master easy to use.

What is the meaning of master in a Git repository?

• A

  The name of a temporary developer branch

• B

  The default name for Git's main and stable branch

• C

  A remote repository

• D

  A staging branch for code reviews

Explanation:

master (or main in many modern repos) is the default branch created when you run git init. It typically contains stable and production-ready code that other branches merge into.

What does the term origin/master represent?

• A

  A local branch that replaces master

• B

  A copy of the master branch stored on GitHub

• C

  A remote-tracking branch in the local repository

• D

  A branch used only during cloning

  
  

Explanation:

origin/master is a remote-tracking branch in your local repository. It mirrors the master branch on the remote repository (origin) and updates whenever you run git fetch. It is not a branch you directly commit to but a reference to the remote state.

What is the correct sequence to merge updates from the remote master into your local master branch?

• A

  git pull origin master → git commit → git push

• B

  git fetch origin master → git merge origin/master

• C

  git merge master → git push origin

• D

  git clone master → git merge origin

Explanation:

The correct process to update your local master with the latest remote changes is:

1. git fetch origin master – gets the latest remote changes and stores them in origin/master
2. git merge origin/master – merges those updates into your local master branch

This avoids accidental overwrites and gives you a chance to resolve merge conflicts locally.

When running the command git push origin master, what happens?

• A

  The master branch is deleted

• B

  Local master branch changes are pushed to remote origin

• C

  The repository is cloned again

• D

  Git switches your active branch to master

Explanation:

git push origin master sends your local master branch commits to the remote master branch on the remote repository named origin. This updates the remote repository with your latest work.

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