git town sync

git town sync [--all] [--stack] [--detached] [--dry-run] [--no-push]

The sync command ("synchronize this branch") updates the local Git workspace with what happened in the rest of the repository.

• pulls updates from the tracking and all parent branches
• prunes branches whose tracking branch was deleted at the remote if they contain no unshipped changes
• if the branch is checked out in another worktree, syncs with the remote branch
• if the parent branch isn't checked out locally at all, also syncs with its remote branch and the parent's parent until it finds a local ancestor branch

Merge conflicts are never fun. If you experience too many merge conflicts, sync your branches more often. If your Git Town installation is properly configured, "git town sync --all" syncs all local branches with guarantee to never lose changes, even in edge cases. You can run it many times per day without thinking about it. If a sync goes wrong, you can safely go back to the state you repo was in before the sync by running git town undo.

--all / -a

By default this command syncs only the current branch. The --all aka -a parameter makes Git Town sync all local branches.

--detached / -d

The --detached aka -d flag does not pull updates from the main or perennial branch. This allows you to keep your branches in sync with each other and decide when to pull in changes from other developers.

--dry-run

The --dry-run flag allows to test-drive this command. It prints the Git commands that would be run but doesn't execute them.

--no-push

The --no-push argument disables all pushes of local commits to their tracking branch.

--stack / -s

The --stack aka -s parameter makes Git Town sync all branches in the stack that the current branch belongs to.

--verbose / -v

The --verbose aka -v flag prints all Git commands run under the hood to determine the repository state.

Configuration

sync-perennial-strategy configures whether perennial branches merge their tracking branch or rebase against it.

sync-feature-strategy configures whether feature branches merge their parent and tracking branches or rebase against them.

If the repository contains a Git remote called upstream and the sync-upstream setting is enabled, Git Town also downloads new commits from the upstream main branch.

sync-tags configures whether Git Town syncs Git tags with the origin remote.

Why does git-sync update a branch before deleting it?

"git town sync" can delete branches if their tracking branch was deleted at the remote. To do so while guaranteeing that it never loses any of your changes, "git town sync" needs to prove that the branch to be deleted contains no unshipped changes. Git Town verifies this by diffing the branch to delete against its parent branch. Only branches with an empty diff can be deleted safely. For this diff to potentially be empty, Git Town needs to sync the branch first, even if it's going to be deleted right afterwards.