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Pushing and Pulling: Syncing with Remote

Push uploads your work. Pull downloads others' work. Understanding push and pull is understanding how to sync with remote.

🎯 The Big Picture​

Push and pull are how you sync with remote. Push sends your commits. Pull gets others' commits. They're the foundation of collaboration.

Think of it like this: Push is uploading. Pull is downloading. They keep local and remote in sync.

Pushing to Remote​

Basic Push​

# Push to remote
git push origin main

# Or just (if upstream set)
git push

Push New Branch​

# Push new branch and set upstream
git push -u origin feature-branch

# -u sets upstream, so later you can just:
git push

Force Push (Be Careful!)​

# Force push (rewrites remote history)
git push --force origin main

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

Warning: Force push rewrites history. Only use on branches you own.

Pulling from Remote​

Basic Pull​

# Pull from remote
git pull origin main

# Or just (if upstream set)
git pull

Pull with Rebase​

# Pull and rebase instead of merge
git pull --rebase origin main

Push and Pull Workflow​

Daily Workflow​

# Start of day: Get latest
git pull

# During day: Make changes
git add .
git commit -m "Update"

# End of day: Share changes
git push

Feature Branch Workflow​

# Create feature branch
git checkout -b feature/auth

# Make changes
git add .
git commit -m "Add authentication"

# Push feature branch
git push -u origin feature/auth

# Create PR, merge to main
# Then update local main
git checkout main
git pull

My Take: Push and Pull Are Routine​

I used to think push and pull were complicated. I'd avoid them.

Then I learned: Push and pull are routine. They're how you collaborate.

Now I push and pull:

  • Pull at start of day (get latest)
  • Push when done (share work)
  • Pull before pushing (avoid conflicts)

Push and pull are collaboration. Use them routinely.

Key Takeaways​

  1. Push uploads commits - Share your work
  2. Pull downloads commits - Get others' work
  3. Set upstream - Makes push/pull easier
  4. Pull before push - Avoid conflicts
  5. Force push carefully - Only when necessary

What's Next?​

Next: Remote Management.

Remember: Push and pull are routine. They're how you collaborate.