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what does git push do

Git push takes the commits you’ve made locally and publishes them to a remote repository (like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket) so others (or your other machines) can see and use them.

Quick Scoop: What git push Actually Does

At a high level, when you run something like:

bash

git push origin main

Git does three main things.

  1. Finds new commits
    It looks at your local branch (for example main) and the corresponding branch on the remote (origin/main).

    • It figures out which commits exist locally but not yet on the remote.
 * Only those missing commits are prepared to be sent.
  1. Sends commits and objects to the remote
    Git transfers all necessary data (commits, trees, blobs – the internal “objects” that represent your code and history) that the remote doesn’t have yet.
 * This is an efficient transfer: Git skips anything the remote already knows about.
  1. Updates the branch pointer on the remote
    After the data is safely stored on the server, Git moves the remote branch (like origin/main) to point at your latest commit.
 * Your local tracking branch `origin/main` will also be updated the next time you fetch or pull.

In plain language: git push uploads your local work and advances the remote branch to your latest commit, assuming that doing so doesn’t overwrite someone else’s newer work.

What git push Does NOT Do

This is where many people get confused, especially when comparing git push and git pull.

  • It does not merge anything on your machine.
    • Merging on your machine happens with commands like git merge or git pull (which is basically fetch + merge or rebase).
  • It does not automatically resolve conflicts.
    • If the remote has commits you don’t have, and your history doesn’t “fast-forward” cleanly, the push will be rejected.
* You usually need to `git pull` (or `git fetch` \+ `git rebase/merge`), fix conflicts, then push again.

Think of it this way:

git push is publishing your work, not integrating others’ work into your local copy.

Minimal Workflow Example

A typical local → remote flow looks like this.

  1. Make changes to your files.

  2. Stage them:

    bash

git add .

  3. Commit them:

    bash

git commit -m "Implement new feature"

  4. Push them:

    bash

git push origin main

After step 4, your new commit is on the remote branch (origin/main), and teammates can pull it into their own clones.

A Simple Mental Model

Imagine your local branch as your personal “draft” timeline and the remote branch as the shared “official” timeline.

  • When you commit , you add a new snapshot to your personal timeline.
  • When you push , you move the shared timeline forward so that everyone can see your new snapshots, as long as that shared timeline didn’t already move ahead in a conflicting way.

If you’d like, I can also show the difference between git push, git pull, and git fetch in a small HTML table.