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As I'm learning about git, I keep coming across the terms HEAD, master, origin, and I'm not sure what the differences are. If I understand correctly, HEAD is always equal to the latest revision? And if so, is that the latest revision of the whole repository, or of a specific branch or tag? This is so confusing. I've read so many tutorials on this and things like branching/merging, but still can't wrap my head around it.
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In Git, "origin" is a shorthand name for the remote repository that a project was originally cloned from. More precisely, it is used instead of that original repository's URL - and thereby makes referencing much easier.
HEAD is a reference to the last commit in the currently checked out branch. The commit with HEAD->master is what the local master branch is pointing to. origin/master refers to the remote master branch. Once you push the commit to the remote must branch, Git will indicate that origin/master has the commit.
Master: This is a branch name where we first initiate git and then we use to make commits. And the changes in the master can pull/push into a remote. origin/master: This is a remote branch, which has a local branch named master on a remote named origin.
When working with Git, only one branch can be checked out at a time - and this is what's called the "HEAD" branch. Often, this is also referred to as the "active" or "current" branch. Git makes note of this current branch in a file located inside the Git repository, in .
I highly recommend the book "Pro Git" by Scott Chacon. Take time and really read it, while exploring an actual git repo as you do.
HEAD: the current commit your repo is on. Most of the time HEAD points to the latest commit in your current branch, but that doesn't have to be the case. HEAD really just means "what is my repo currently pointing at".
In the event that the commit HEAD refers to is not the tip of any branch, this is called a "detached head".
master: the name of the default branch that git creates for you when first creating a repo. In most cases, "master" means "the main branch". Most shops have everyone pushing to master, and master is considered the definitive view of the repo. But it's also common for release branches to be made off of master for releasing. Your local repo has its own master branch, that almost always follows the master of a remote repo.
origin: the default name that git gives to your main remote repo. Your box has its own repo, and you most likely push out to some remote repo that you and all your coworkers push to. That remote repo is almost always called origin, but it doesn't have to be.
HEAD is an official notion in git. HEAD always has a well-defined meaning. master and origin are common names usually used in git, but they don't have to be.
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HEAD is not the latest revision, it's the current revision. Usually, it's the latest revision of the current branch, but it doesn't have to be.
master is a name commonly given to the main branch, but it could be called anything else (or there could be no main branch).
origin is a name commonly given to the main remote. remote is another repository that you can pull from and push to. Usually it's on some server, like github.
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