Add an issue in 'Common Issues' section which addresses the confusion between performing a 'fetch' and a 'pull'. Signed-off-by: Shourya Shukla <shouryashukla.oo@xxxxxxxxx> --- Documentation/gitfaq.txt | 20 ++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 20 insertions(+) diff --git a/Documentation/gitfaq.txt b/Documentation/gitfaq.txt index cea293cf07..e93785f2f8 100644 --- a/Documentation/gitfaq.txt +++ b/Documentation/gitfaq.txt @@ -289,6 +289,26 @@ way of cloning it in lesser space?:: would mean fetching only the top level commits of the repository See linkgit:git-clone[1]. +[[fetching-and-pulling]] +How do I know if I want to do a fetch or a pull?:: + A fetch brings in the latest changes made upstream (i.e., the + remote repository we are working on). This allows us to inspect + the changes made upstream and integrate all those changes (if + and only if we want to) or only cherry pick certain changes. + Fetching does not have any immediate effects on the local + repository. + + A pull is a wrapper for a fetch and merge. This means that doing + a `git pull` will not only fetch the changes made upstream but + integrate them as well with our local repository. The merge may + go smoothly or have merge conflicts depending on the case. A pull + does not allow you to review any changes made upstream but rather + merge those changes on their own. ++ +This is the reason why it is sometimes advised to fetch the changes +first and then merge them accordingly because not every change might +be of utility to the user. + Hooks ----- -- 2.20.1
