Git Fetch vs Pull — 47 Merge Commits on Shared Branches

# io.thecodeforge — Fetch vs Pull

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# FETCH: download changes, update remote-tracking refs, touch NOTHING local
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git fetch origin
# Now origin/main is updated but your local main branch hasn't moved

# Inspect what changed before integrating
git log main..origin/main --oneline
# Shows commits on origin/main that aren't in your local main yet

git diff main origin/main
# Shows the actual file diff between your local and remote

# If you're happy with what you see, integrate manually
git merge origin/main     # or:
git rebase origin/main

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# PULL: fetch + merge in one step (less control)
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git pull origin main
# Equivalent to:
# git fetch origin main
# git merge origin/main

# PULL with rebase (cleaner history than merge)
git pull --rebase origin main
# Equivalent to:
# git fetch origin main
# git rebase origin/main

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# CONFIGURE pull to always rebase (recommended for feature branches)
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git config --global pull.rebase true
git config --global pull.rebase merges  # preserve merge commits when rebasing

# Verify configuration
git config --global pull.rebase
# Output: true

# io.thecodeforge — Fetch-First Workflow

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# PROFESSIONAL WORKFLOW: fetch first, then decide
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git fetch origin

# What's changed on main since I branched?
git log --oneline origin/main ^HEAD

# How many commits am I behind?
git rev-list HEAD..origin/main --count

# Am I ahead of remote? (commits I haven't pushed yet)
git rev-list origin/main..HEAD --count

# Full status view
git log --oneline --decorate --graph origin/main HEAD -10

# Only now integrate
git merge origin/main    # creates merge commit
# OR
git rebase origin/main   # linear history, no merge commit

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# CI/CD PIPELINE PATTERN: fetch and compare refs
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git fetch origin

# Get the latest commit on remote main
REMOTE_HEAD=$(git rev-parse origin/main)
LOCAL_HEAD=$(git rev-parse HEAD)

if [ "$REMOTE_HEAD" != "$LOCAL_HEAD" ]; then
  echo "Local is behind remote. Fetching and rebuilding."
  git checkout main
  git reset --hard origin/main
else
  echo "Local is up to date. No rebuild needed."
fi

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# POST-LONG-SESSION: check what changed while you were working
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git fetch origin

# Commits on remote that you don't have
git log HEAD..origin/main --oneline

# Files that changed on remote
git diff --name-only HEAD origin/main

# Decide: merge (creates merge commit) or rebase (linear history)
# For feature branches: rebase
# For shared branches: merge

# io.thecodeforge — Pull Configuration

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# RECOMMENDED: rebase by default on all pulls
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git config --global pull.rebase true
# Every git pull now does: git fetch + git rebase
# Result: linear history, no unnecessary merge commits

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# MIDDLE GROUND: rebase but preserve merge commits
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git config --global pull.rebase merges
# Rebases regular commits but keeps merge commits intact
# Useful when your workflow intentionally uses merge commits as markers

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# VERIFY CURRENT CONFIGURATION
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
git config --global pull.rebase
# Output: true (or merges, or empty for default merge behavior)

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# PER-REPOSITORY OVERRIDE
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# Some repos may need merge behavior even if global is rebase
cd /path/to/specific-repo
git config pull.rebase false
# Overrides global setting for this repository only

# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
# TEAM ONBOARDING: add to setup script
# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
cat > io/thecodeforge/git/team-setup.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
# io.thecodeforge — Team Git Setup

# Recommended git config for the team
git config --global pull.rebase true
git config --global fetch.prune true
git config --global rerere.enabled true
git config --global core.autocrlf input

echo "Git configured for team workflow."
EOF
chmod +x io/thecodeforge/git/team-setup.sh