Git is a powerful version control system that enables developers to track changes in their codebase and manage their projects effectively. One of the key features of Git is branching, which allows developers to create separate versions of a codebase and work on them simultaneously. In this article, we will look at how to create an empty branch in Git using the “--orphan“ option.
An “orphan” branch in Git is a branch that has no parent branch, meaning that it doesn’t contain any of the history from the main branch. This can be useful when you want to create a new branch that starts from scratch and doesn’t contain any of the code or history from the main branch. Here’s how to create an empty branch using the “--orphan” option in Git:
Git Create Empty Branch
Create a new branch: To create a new “orphan” branch, use the command `git checkout --orphan <branch_name>`. Replace <branch_name> with the name of the branch that you want to create. For example, to create a branch named “feature_branch”, you would use the following command:
git checkout --orphan feature_branch
The above command will create a new branch with no parents. Now, you can delete all files from the current working directory, so they don’t commit to a new branch.
git rm -rf .
Now, you can add new files to this new branch, commit them to the repository.
Push the new branch to the remote repository
First verify that the new branch has been created, use the command git branch again. This will list all the branches in your repository, with the current branch highlighted by an asterisk (*).
If you want to make the new branch available on the remote repository, you can use the `git push -u origin <branch_name>`. Replace <branch_name> with the name of the branch that you created. For example, to push the “feature_branch” to the remote repository, you would use the following command:
git push -u origin feature_branch
That’s it! You have successfully created an empty “orphan” branch in Git. You can now switch to the new branch and start making changes to it without affecting the code in the original branch. When you are ready to merge the changes, you can use the git merge command to merge the changes back into the original branch.
Conclusion
In conclusion, creating an empty “orphan” branch in Git is a useful way to start a new branch from scratch and keep it separate from the main branch. By using the “--orphan“ option, you can create a new branch that doesn’t contain any of the history from the main branch, making it ideal for creating new projects or testing out new ideas.