Remotes and GitHub Flow · Lesson 13 of 15

Remotes, push and tracking

Connect a local repository to a shared copy and push a branch safely.

10 minutes2 games

A remote is a saved name for another repository's address. origin is merely a convention, not magic. git push -u origin main sends commits and records an upstream, so later git push knows the remote and branch.

Local main

push

tracking origin/main

shared repository

Git

git init -q -b main
echo "project" > README.md
git add README.md
git commit -q -m "Initial project"
git remote add origin https://example.com/team/app.git
git remote -v
git push -u origin main

origin/main is a local reference to the last known remote main, not a branch you work on directly. Push transfers missing objects and asks the remote to advance its branch. Use SSH or HTTPS according to your organization.

Quick question

What does -u do on the first push?

Exercise

Create a repository and commit, add a remote named origin, then print detailed remotes.

Expected output:

origin	https://example.com/app.git (fetch)
origin	https://example.com/app.git (push)

Git

git init -q -b main
echo "app" > app.txt
git add app.txt
git commit -q -m "Start"
git remote -v

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