Git Remote

Overview

Remotes are named references to other repositories—usually origin on GitHub or GitLab. Push uploads commits; pull fetches and integrates remote changes. Set upstream tracking so git push and git pull know the default remote branch.

Syntax / Usage

# List remotes
git remote -v

# Add remote
git remote add origin git@github.com:user/repo.git

# Change remote URL
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:user/new-repo.git

# Fetch without merging
git fetch origin

# Pull (fetch + merge/rebase)
git pull origin main
git pull --rebase origin main

# Push
git push origin feature/login
git push -u origin feature/login   # set upstream

# Delete remote branch
git push origin --delete feature/old

Examples

First push of a new branch:

git switch -c feature/docs
git commit -m "docs: add API guide"
git push -u origin feature/docs

Update fork from upstream:

git remote add upstream git@github.com:original/repo.git
git fetch upstream
git switch main
git merge upstream/main
git push origin main

Common Mistakes

• Pushing to wrong remote or branch—verify with git remote -v and git branch -vv
• Force pushing to shared branches (main) and overwriting teammates' work
• HTTPS vs SSH URL confusion causing auth failures
• Pulling without committing or stashing local changes first

See Also

clone branch commit merge