In Git, branching is a powerful way to work on features, fixes, or experiments without affecting the main codebase. Often, you may need to create a new branch based not from main, but from an existing feature or development branch. This is especially useful when you’re building on someone else’s work or continuing a related task.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to create a new branch from another branch in Git, step by step.
✅ Why Create a Branch from Another Branch?
Creating a branch from a non-main branch is useful when:
- You’re working on a sub-task of a larger feature.
- You want to continue a teammate’s work.
- You need to test or debug from a specific state of the codebase.
- The changes you need are not yet merged into
main.
🛠️ Step-by-Step: Create a Branch from Another Branch
1. List All Branches (Optional)
To see existing branches:
git branch -a
2. Switch to the Source Branch
Navigate to the branch you want to branch from:
git checkout existing-branch
Example:
git checkout feature/payment-integration
Make sure the branch is up to date:
git pull origin existing-branch
3. Create and Switch to the New Branch
Now, create a new branch based on the current one:
git checkout -b new-branch-name
Example:
git checkout -b feature/payment-validation
This creates a new branch based on the current feature/payment-integration branch and switches you to it.
4. Push the New Branch to Remote
Once you’re ready to share your branch:
git push -u origin new-branch-name
Example:
git push -u origin feature/payment-validation
The -u flag sets the upstream so future git push or git pull commands apply to this branch by default.
🔁 Summary Workflow
git checkout source-branch
git pull origin source-branch
git checkout -b new-branch
git push -u origin new-branch
🧠 Pro Tips
- Use descriptive names for your branches, such as
bug/fix-login,feature/signup-form, ortest/api-endpoints. - Regularly merge the base branch into your new branch to keep it up to date.
- Always pull before branching to avoid outdated code.
🏁 Conclusion
Creating a branch from another branch in Git gives you flexibility and control over how you manage your development workflow. Whether you’re continuing a feature or collaborating on a shared task, this technique helps you stay organized and avoid conflicts.
