Git tags vs branches
2 min readNov 18, 2023
Git tags and branches are important Git concepts that enable developers to work on different project versions simultaneously. Both play a vital role in organizing development work to make changes more manageable and trackable, but they serve different purposes in the development process.
Git Branches:
Purpose:
- Git branches are used to separate work on features or bug fixes, allowing developers to work on different parts of a project without interfering with each other.
- Long-lived development efforts are often done on branches and are expected to be merged back into the main branch upon completion.
Lifecycle:
- Feature branches can have a long lifespan, lasting the duration of a development cycle.
Example:
- Creating a feature branch:
git checkout -b feature-branch
Usage:
- This is often used for concurrent development, resolving errors, and implementing test features.
Git Tags:
Purpose:
- Git tags mark specific points in history to capture software versions.
- Tags are typically used to mark stable points in the codebase that correspond to specific releases.