Understanding Git: Branching, Merging, Conflict Resolution, and GitHub Essentials for Beginners

Published by: DevOps Nexus | Updated: July 29, 2025

Learn Git the right way! In this comprehensive guide, we cover everything from Git branching and merging to resolving conflicts, using stashes, and mastering rebase. Whether you're a beginner or brushing up your skills, this tutorial is perfect for you.

🎬 Watch the Complete Git Tutorial (Video)

Here’s the full-length video that walks you through Git commands, real-world workflows, and best practices for teams:

📘 Table of Contents

🚀 Git Branching & Merging

Branching in Git lets you work on isolated features without disturbing the main codebase. Use git branch to create a branch, git checkout to switch, and git merge to bring changes together.

Conflict Resolution Tip: Use tools like git status, git diff, and GUI merge tools to handle conflicts during merges.

📥 Git Stashing & Tagging

Use git stash to save uncommitted changes without committing. Retrieve with git stash apply or git stash pop. For version snapshots, use git tag.

Use Case: You're switching branches but don't want to lose current changes—stash it!

🔁 Git Rebase vs Merge

Merging preserves history. Rebase creates a linear history by replaying commits. Use git rebase carefully—especially in team settings.

Rebase is ideal for cleaning up history before merging into the main branch, but requires conflict resolution with git rebase --continue.

🔙 Undo: Revert vs Reset

git revert creates a new commit that undoes changes. git reset moves the HEAD and potentially changes commit history.

  • Use git revert for safe undo (good for shared repos).
  • Use git reset for local clean-ups before push.

👥 Team Workflows & GitFlow

Popular workflows include:

  • Feature branching: Create separate branches for each new feature.
  • GitFlow: Formalized model with dev, release, and hotfix branches.
  • Forking: Used in open-source workflows for external contributions.

⚙️ Git + CI/CD + Agile Best Practices

Integrate Git with CI/CD tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI to automate builds and tests. Combine this with Agile practices to maintain feature velocity and code quality.

Best practices:

  • Write meaningful commit messages.
  • Always pull before push to reduce conflicts.
  • Use protected branches for main or production branches.

📌 Conclusion

Mastering Git takes practice. Start with basic commands, and gradually integrate Git into your team’s CI/CD pipeline. Bookmark this guide and rewatch the video as needed!

Read more: Visit GitHub Docs for official resources or check out our Advanced Git Tips.

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