Git Pull vs Fetch

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🔄 Git Pull vs Fetch

Understanding how to synchronize your local repository with the remote.

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📥 Git Fetch

git fetch downloads commits, files, and refs from a remote repository into your local repo. It does NOT merge the changes into your current working branch. It simply updates your remote-tracking branches (e.g., origin/main).

git fetch origin

Safe to run anytime. It updates your view of the remote.

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⬇️ Git Pull

git pull is essentially a combination of two commands: 1. git fetch (download changes) 2. git merge (integrate changes into current branch)

git pull origin main

Common Flags: - --rebase: Replays your local commits on top of the incoming remote commits (cleaner history).

git pull --rebase

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⚙️ Configuration

To make git pull use rebase by default (recommended for cleaner history):

git config --global branch.autosetuprebase always

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🧠 Quick Quiz — Pull vs Fetch

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Which command downloads changes but does not modify your working files?

git pull

git merge

git fetch

git push

git fetch updates remote tracking branches safely without touching your working directory.

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📝 Want More Practice?

👉 Start Git Beginner Quiz (20 Questions)

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