Delete and restore branches

You cannot delete the branch currently checked out. Switch to another branch first.

Delete a local branch

git switch main
git branch -d <branch-name>

-d performs a safety check and refuses to delete a branch with unmerged commits. Use -D only when you intentionally want to discard those commits.

Delete a remote branch

git push origin --delete <branch-name>

This deletes the branch on the remote named origin; it does not delete your local branch.

Restore a branch that still exists remotely

git fetch origin
git switch --track origin/<branch-name>

Restore a deleted local branch

If the branch was deleted locally but its commits still exist, use the reflog:

git reflog

git branch <branch-name> <commit>
git switch <branch-name>

Choose the commit where the branch pointed before deletion. Reflog entries are local and eventually expire, so recover important work promptly.