Remote

Everything so far has assumed one repository on one machine. Remotes are how a repository talks to its copies elsewhere: the copy on a server, and the copies other people have.

git remote manages the list. A remote is just a named URL, so adding one does not move any data.

git remote add origin https://github.com/you/project.git
git remote -v

Three commands move data, and the difference between them is the part people trip over. git fetch downloads what the remote has and updates your remote branches, touching nothing you are working on. git pull is fetch followed by a merge into your current branch. git push sends your commits to the remote.

That means git fetch is always safe. git pull can conflict, and on a long lived branch it pulls in other people's work at the same time as you are committing your own — which is why many teams prefer to fetch explicitly, review, and merge on purpose.

For a first repository, Cloning Repositories covers getting one down. After that, read Fetch Without Merge before you reach for git pull out of habit.

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