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branch

List, create, or delete branches.

Synopsis​

rit branch                    # List all branches
rit branch <name>             # Create a new branch
rit branch -d <name>          # Delete a branch
rit branch -D <name>          # Force delete a branch

Description​

The branch command manages branches in the repository. Without arguments, it lists all branches with the current branch marked with an asterisk (*).

Creating Branches​

When you create a branch with rit branch <name>, the new branch is created pointing to the current HEAD commit. This means:

  • The new branch starts at the same commit as your current branch
  • No files are copied or moved
  • You can immediately start making commits on the new branch

Listing Branches​

When you run rit branch without arguments, it shows:

  • All branches in refs/heads/
  • The current branch marked with *
  • Branches sorted alphabetically

Deleting Branches​

You can delete branches with:

  • rit branch -d <name> - Safe delete (only if merged)
  • rit branch -D <name> - Force delete (even if not merged)

Note: You cannot delete the branch you're currently on unless you use the force flag.

Options​

  • -d, --delete - Delete the specified branch. The branch must be merged into the current branch.
  • -D - Force delete the branch, even if it's not merged.

Examples​

List all branches​

$ rit branch
* main
  feature
  bugfix

The asterisk (*) indicates that main is the current branch.

Create a new branch​

$ rit branch feature
Created branch 'feature'

This creates a new branch called feature pointing to the current HEAD commit.

Delete a merged branch​

$ rit branch -d feature
Deleted branch 'feature' (was abc1234)

This deletes the branch if it's been merged into the current branch.

Force delete a branch​

$ rit branch -D feature
Deleted branch 'feature' (was abc1234)

This deletes the branch even if it hasn't been merged.

How It Works​

Branches in Rit are simply files in .rit/refs/heads/ that contain commit hashes:

.rit/
└── refs/
    └── heads/
        ├── main      # Contains: abc123...
        ├── feature   # Contains: def456...
        └── bugfix    # Contains: 789abc...

When you create a branch:

  1. Rit reads the current HEAD commit hash
  2. Creates a new file in refs/heads/<branch-name>
  3. Writes the commit hash to that file

When you list branches:

  1. Rit reads all files in refs/heads/
  2. Compares with HEAD to find the current branch
  3. Displays them sorted alphabetically

Current Branch​

The current branch is determined by reading .rit/HEAD. If HEAD contains:

  • ref: refs/heads/main - The current branch is main
  • A commit hash directly - HEAD is detached (no current branch)

See Also​

  • commit - Create commits
  • log - View commit history