Here is the longhand way:

git checkout old-branch
git branch new-branch
git checkout new-branch

But there is a quicker way:

git checkout -b new-branch old-branch

… which does the same thing, albiet in one command.

I had a remote branch called Task/Round3.3.

I wanted to work on it locally, but have push and pull work right.

So I ran this:

git checkout -b Task/Round3.3 --track origin/Task/Round3.3

To which git said:

Branch Task/Round3.3 set up to track remote branch refs/remotes/origin/Task/Round3.3.
Switched to a new branch "Task/Round3.3"

And in .git/config, these lines were added:

[branch "Task/Round3.3"]
remote = origin
merge = refs/heads/Task/Round3.3

Now, when I checkout Task/Round3.3, I am able to say `git pull` and `git push`, and it will do the “right thing”…

[jason@dc40 AppStruct]$ git status
# On branch master
# Changed but not updated:
#   (use "git add/rm ..." to update what will be committed)
#
#       deleted:    Python/AppStruct/Application.py
#       modified:   Python/AppStruct/Database/PostgreSQL.py
#       deleted:    Python/AppStruct/Date.py
#       deleted:    Python/AppStruct/JSON.py
#       deleted:    Python/AppStruct/Util.py
#       deleted:    Python/AppStruct/__init__.py
#
# Untracked files:
#   (use "git add ..." to include in what will be committed)
#
#       Python/AppStruct/NewFile.txt
no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")

Previously, the way to handle this would be:

   git rm ...
   git rm ...
   git rm ...
   git rm ...
   git rm ...
   git add ...
   git add ...

Rather, isn’t this easier?

   git add -u
   git add .

–update | -u
Only match against already tracked files in the index rather than the working tree. That means that it will never stage new files, but that it will stage modified new contents of tracked files and that it will remove files from the index if the corresponding files in the working tree have been removed.

But did you know this:

git add .

adds all the files. Use with care (only after git status, for example).

git add -u .

adds and deletes all KNOWN files.

This is great if you added and removed or renamed files.