What’s the difference between ‘git switch’ and ‘git checkout

The commands git switch and git checkout in Git are similar but have distinct purposes and use cases. Here’s a detailed explanation of their differences:

1. Overview

• git checkout:
  • A versatile command used to:
    1. Switch branches.
    2. Restore files to a previous state.
    3. Detach the HEAD to inspect a commit.
• git switch:
  • Introduced in Git 2.23 (August 2019), it is a more focused command for switching branches. It avoids some of the confusion caused by the multi-purpose nature of git checkout.

2. Specific Use Cases

git checkout

• Switch to a branch:

  git checkout branch_name
  

• Create and switch to a new branch:

  git checkout -b new_branch
  

• Restore a file from a commit:

  git checkout <commit_hash> -- file_name
  

• Detach HEAD to inspect a specific commit:

  git checkout <commit_hash>
  

git switch

• Switch to an existing branch:

  git switch branch_name
  

• Create and switch to a new branch:

  git switch -c new_branch
  

• Detach HEAD (for inspecting a commit):

  git switch --detach <commit_hash>
  

3. Key Differences

4. Which Should You Use?

• Use git switch for:
  • Switching between branches.
  • Creating and switching to a new branch.
  • Explicit and clear branch-related workflows.
• Use git checkout for:
  • Restoring files from a commit.
  • Inspecting commits by detaching HEAD.
  • Scenarios where git switch cannot be used.

5. Examples

Switching Branches:

• With git checkout:

  git checkout feature_branch
  

• With git switch:

  git switch feature_branch
  

Creating and Switching to a New Branch:

• With git checkout:

  git checkout -b new_branch
  

• With git switch:

  git switch -c new_branch
  

Restoring a File from a Commit:

• Only with git checkout:

  git checkout <commit_hash> -- file_name
  

6. Recommendation

• Use git switch for branch-related operations since it’s more focused and less error-prone.
• Use git checkout when you need to restore files or for other operations that git switch doesn’t support.

Let me know if you’d like to dive deeper into any of these commands!