The importance and advantage of git push -u

• Link to The importance and advantage of git push -u podcast on anchorfm

I have been executing the git push -u origin master command for what seems like forever now, and knew it was important for syncing my local git repository with my remote git repository when pushing to remote for the first time, but I never knew the extent of its importance or the convenience it provided.

The other day I completed a slide deck entitled basic Git commands, and I researched the -u flag. I came across a fabulous website dedicated to Git commands, and it went into depth about what -u actually does. According to jquery-az.com,

The -u flag is used to set origin as the upstream remote in your git config. As you push a branch successfully or up to date it, it adds upstream reference.

As you push local branch with (the) git push -u option, that local branch is linked with the remote branch automatically. The advantage is, you may use git pull without any arguments.

The key here is in

The advantage is, you may use git pull without any arguments.

So whenever you want to sync your local repo with remote, or want to make sure that you have incorporated all the changes that other contributors have made to the repository, you can use

git pull

instead of

git pull remoteRepositoryUrl

It saves you fetching the url from the remote or going into your git config to retrieve it. This saves much time and inconvenience!

Over the years I have asked people who don’t use git push -u but only git push, “Don’t you have to use the -u flag when first pushing your local repository to remote?” They would always say, “No. Don’t need to, and never have had any problems”. They were always right, but they probably didn’t realize that it meant having to use the remote url each time they had to git pull, for example, which meant extra time and some inconvenience. Those two little characters may be of use to them after all! I know I have never had to use the remote repository url when git pulling!

I will be embedding this episode of Plugging in The Holes along with a transcript in the form of a post on interglobalmedianetwork.com for your hearing and reading pleasure. I will be including the related resource links mentioned in the podcast of course. Always do. Bye for now!

Related Resources

• The Purpose of Git Push command