git switch and git restore, or why not using git checkout

git checkout command exists since the beginning of git

It is used for these things:

• creating new branch

git checkout -b new-feature upstream/main

• switching branch

git checkout main

• restoring unstaged changes

git checkout README.md

• checking out code from other branch

git checkout v1.0.0 -- README.md

git checkout command confuses everyone who start using git

Why?

Because it mixes two concepts:

• branches juggling
• restoring files

That's why new commands were added with Git 2.23 (August 2019, almost 5 years ago):

• git switch: for playing with branches
• git restore: for restoring files.

git restore can be used as a simple replacement on action on files.

the only noticeable changes between git switch and git checkout is that branch creation was done with git checkout -b name while it's now git switch -c name

Credit: https://twitter.com/_risacan_/status/1162539626373865472

Comments

[Paweł Ciosek]

It’s worth mention that git switch is useful to switch to branch that exists only in remote. It works like a shortcut 😎

Docs:

I’m using it before code review to switch to prepared branch with changes

[Rituraj Borpujari]

For me git checkout seemed simple enough to use for the purposes. Didn't try switch because I thought, well checkout does it anyway (and maybe I got habituated with the -b).

That's why new commands were added with Git 2.23 (August 2019, almost 5 years ago):

Nice to know about the history here.

[Christophe Colombier]

Everyone should give a try to git switch and git restore.

My main problem is that git new comers lean the old git checkout that is so confusing at first