git push — Uploading Changes

git push uploads your local commits to the remote repository, making your work available to teammates. Git only sends the new commits the remote does not have yet — it is efficient and incremental.

01.How Push Works

Push does not copy your entire working directory — it sends only the new commit objects (the delta) that the remote is missing. Git compresses and transmits only what is needed. After a push, the remote-tracking branch (origin/main) in your local repo is also updated to reflect the new state.

Distributed Architecture

💻

Your Local

push / pull

☁️

GitHub (Remote)

push / pull

💻

Teammate's Local

02.Setting Upstream with -u

The -u flag (short for --set-upstream) creates a tracking link between your local branch and the remote branch. You only need this once per branch. After running "git push -u origin main", all future pushes and pulls from that branch can use just "git push" and "git pull" with no arguments.

Branch Visualization

main

feature

HEAD

Commands

commands — click to reveal output

git push origin main

Push local main branch to origin

▼ show output

git push -u origin main

Push AND set upstream tracking (only needed first time)

▼ show output

git push

Push to tracked upstream branch (after -u is set)

git push origin feature/login

Push a feature branch to remote

git push origin --delete feature/old

Delete a remote branch

▼ show output

git push --force-with-lease

Safe force push — only works if remote has no new commits you have not seen

KNOWLEDGE CHECK

What does the -u flag in "git push -u origin main" do?

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