In daily Git collaboration, pulling remote code is a fundamental and frequent operation. fetch and pull are the two most commonly used commands for pulling, but many beginners often confuse their differences and applicable scenarios. Today, we’ll clarify their distinctions and when to use each in the simplest way possible.

First, Clarify a Prerequisite: Git’s “Remote-Tracking Branches”¶

Before discussing fetch and pull, it’s essential to understand the concept of remote-tracking branches (e.g., origin/master). These are “mirrors” that Git creates locally for each branch in the remote repository (e.g., a repository on GitHub). For example, when you clone a repository, your local master branch is linked to the remote repository’s origin/master branch, where origin is the default alias for the remote repository.

一、Git Fetch: “Pull Only, Do Not Merge”¶

git fetch pulls the latest code updates from the remote repository to your local remote-tracking branches but does not automatically merge them into your current working branch.

Operation Steps:¶

1. The remote repository (e.g., origin) has new commits or branch updates;
2. After executing git fetch, your local remote-tracking branches (e.g., origin/master) are automatically updated to the latest state (but your local working branch remains unaffected);
3. At this point, you can view the remote updates but need to manually decide whether to merge them into your local branch.

Example:¶

Suppose you are currently developing on the master branch, and the remote repository’s origin/master has 10 new commits (while your local origin/master is still at the 10th previous version). After executing git fetch:
- The remote-tracking branch origin/master will automatically update to the latest 10 commits;
- However, your local master branch still stays at the original version (no automatic merge).

At this point, you can check the latest commits on the remote using git log origin/master and then decide whether to merge them into your local master.

二、Git Pull: “Pull and Automatically Merge”¶

git pull essentially first executes git fetch and then automatically merges the remote updates into your current working branch. It can be understood as a shortcut for “pull + merge”.

Operation Steps:¶

1. Pull the latest updates from the remote repository to your local remote-tracking branches (same as fetch);
2. Automatically execute git merge to merge the remote updates into your current local branch (e.g., master).

Example:¶

In the same scenario, if origin/master has 10 new commits and your local master is still outdated:
- First, fetch updates origin/master to the latest version;
- Then, the updates from origin/master are automatically merged into your local master branch.

If there are no conflicts during the merge (e.g., no one modified the same line of code), the merge succeeds; if there are conflicts, Git will prompt “Automatic merge failed”, and you need to manually resolve the conflicts before committing.

三、Core Differences: When to Use Fetch vs. Pull?¶

四、Practical Scenarios¶

Scenario 1: Need to Check Remote Updates Before Merging¶

For example, you are developing a new feature locally (uncommitted), but you are unsure if the remote repository has updates. You want to check first before deciding to pull. Use fetch here:

# Check remote updates
git fetch origin  # Pull all updates from the origin repository to local remote-tracking branches
git log origin/master  # View the latest commits on the remote master branch

If you think it’s okay, manually merge into your local branch:

git checkout master  # Switch to the local master branch
git merge origin/master  # Merge remote updates into local master

Scenario 2: Need to Immediately Sync Remote Updates to Local Branch¶

For example, in team collaboration, you need to continue development based on the latest main branch code. Using pull is more straightforward here:

git pull origin master  # Pull updates from origin/master and merge into local master

If there are conflicts, resolve them and then commit:

# Assuming conflicts occur, resolve them and commit
git add .  # Mark conflicts as resolved
git commit -m "Merge remote updates and resolve conflicts"

五、Precautions¶

1. fetch does not modify the local working directory: Even if there are remote updates, fetch only updates the remote-tracking branches and does not overwrite your current work (e.g., uncommitted code will not be lost);
2. pull may overwrite local modifications: If you have uncommitted changes, pull may cause conflicts during merging (especially if multiple people modify the same file). It is recommended to commit or stash your local changes first;
3. pull’s “shortcut” does not mean “safe”: Automatic merging may introduce conflicts. It is best to check the update content via fetch before pulling to avoid unexpected issues.

Summary¶

• fetch: “Pull first, then decide to merge”, suitable for scenarios where you want to check remote updates before merging;
• pull: “Pull and merge immediately”, suitable for scenarios where you need to sync remote updates to the local branch immediately.

Remember: fetch is “download only, no merge”, and pull is “download + automatic merge”. Choose the command based on whether you need automatic merging to avoid confusion in Git operations!