Pushing and Pulling

Pushing and pulling are how you synchronize changes between your local repository and remote repositories.

Git Push

Pushing uploads your local commits to a remote repository.

Basic Push

git push origin main

This pushes your local main branch to the origin remote.

Push Current Branch

git push

If your branch is tracking a remote branch, this pushes to it.

Push with Upstream

git push -u origin feature
# or
git push --set-upstream origin feature

The -u flag:

1. Pushes the branch
2. Sets up tracking (so future git push and git pull just work)

Push All Branches

git push --all origin

Push Tags

# Push specific tag
git push origin v1.0.0

# Push all tags
git push origin --tags

What Happens When You Push

Before push:
Local:    A ← B ← C ← D ← E  (main)
                       ↑
                     origin/main

Remote:   A ← B ← C ← D      (main)

After push:
Local:    A ← B ← C ← D ← E  (main)
                           ↑
                         origin/main

Remote:   A ← B ← C ← D ← E  (main)

Push Rejections

If the remote has commits you don't have:

! [rejected]        main -> main (non-fast-forward)
error: failed to push some refs to 'origin'
hint: Updates were rejected because the tip of your current branch is behind
hint: its remote counterpart. Integrate the remote changes before pushing again.

Solutions:

# Option 1: Pull first (recommended)
git pull origin main
git push origin main

# Option 2: Force push (DANGEROUS - rewrites history)
git push --force origin main

Never force push to shared branches unless you know what you're doing!

Git Pull

Pulling downloads and integrates remote changes.

Basic Pull

git pull origin main

This is equivalent to:

git fetch origin main
git merge origin/main

Pull Current Branch

git pull

If tracking is set up, pulls from the tracked remote branch.

Pull with Rebase

git pull --rebase origin main

Instead of merging, this rebases your changes on top of the remote changes. Creates a cleaner history.

What Happens When You Pull

Before pull:
Local:    A ← B ← C ← D  (main)
                   ↑
                 origin/main

Remote:   A ← B ← C ← E ← F  (main)

After pull (with merge):
Local:    A ← B ← C ← D ← ← ← M  (main)
                   \       /
                    E ← F
                        ↑
                      origin/main

After pull --rebase:
Local:    A ← B ← C ← E ← F ← D'  (main)
                          ↑
                        origin/main

The Push/Pull Workflow

Typical daily workflow:

# Start of day: Get latest changes
git pull origin main

# Make your changes
# ... edit files ...

# Commit your work
git add .
git commit -m "Add feature"

# Before pushing, get any new changes
git pull origin main

# Push your changes
git push origin main

Exercise: Push and Pull

Practice the push/pull workflow:

Handling Push Conflicts

When you can't push because the remote has diverged:

Merge Approach (Default)

git pull origin main   # Fetch + Merge
# Resolve any conflicts
git push origin main

Rebase Approach (Cleaner History)

git pull --rebase origin main
# Resolve any conflicts
git rebase --continue  # If conflicts occurred
git push origin main

Force Push (Use Carefully!)

git push --force origin main
# or safer:
git push --force-with-lease origin main

--force-with-lease only force pushes if no one else has pushed since you last fetched.

Push Options

# Push and set upstream
git push -u origin feature

# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete feature

# Push all branches
git push --all

# Push tags
git push --tags

# Force push (dangerous!)
git push --force
git push -f

# Safer force push
git push --force-with-lease

# Dry run (show what would happen)
git push --dry-run

Pull Options

# Pull with rebase
git pull --rebase

# Pull and autostash local changes
git pull --autostash

# Pull from specific remote/branch
git pull origin feature

# Pull all remotes
git pull --all

Configuring Default Behavior

Set Push Default

# Push current branch to matching remote branch
git config --global push.default current

# Only push if upstream is set
git config --global push.default simple  # (default)

Set Pull Default

# Always rebase on pull
git config --global pull.rebase true

# Always merge on pull (default)
git config --global pull.rebase false

Summary

• Push uploads your commits to a remote
• Pull downloads and integrates remote commits
• Use -u to set up tracking when pushing new branches
• Pull before push to avoid rejections
• Use --rebase for cleaner history
• Never force push to shared branches
• Use --force-with-lease if you must force push

In the next lesson, we'll explore the difference between fetch and pull.