I just made a commit, so why does VS Code still show that asterisk (*) on my branch name? A debugging journey through Git's "deleted" file status and what to do about it.
I changed my dev server port from 5173 to 5174 across three files, but I also had other unrelated changes in those same files! π° I only wanted to commit the port changes. My mentor walked me through Git's partial staging features: git add -p, git stash, interactive staging, and patch mode. After some trial and error (and learning what NOT to do), I successfully committed only the port changes while keeping my other work-in-progress safe. This is professional Git workflow! π―
Frontend Dev: "I just finished working on my frontend branch and want to merge it into main. Someone told me to use rebase, but when I ran git rebase main, it said 'Current branch frontend is up to date.' What does that mean? Should I use merge instead?"
Git Mentor: "Ah, this is one of the most confusing topics in Git! Let me show you the difference between fast-forward merge and rebase, and when to use each one. Your 'up to date' message actually tells us something important!"
Backend Dev: "I just created a Postman collection in my backend worktree, and now Git is showing the entire postman/ folder as untracked files! I thought API testing folders were supposed to be gitignored automatically?"
DevOps Mentor: "Ah, you've discovered one of the subtle quirks of Git worktrees! Even though worktrees share the same repository, they each need proper .gitignore configuration. Let me show you what's happening!"
Backend Dev: "I just successfully rebased my backend branch with 18 commits onto main! But when I try to push, Git says I need to force push. Why can't I just do a regular push? What happened to my commits?"
Git Mentor: "Ah! You've encountered one of Git's most important safety mechanisms. Let me show you exactly what happened during your rebase and why you now need force push!"
Backend Dev: "I just successfully rebased my backend branch onto main with 18 commits. So now my main branch has all my backend changes, right?"
Git Mentor: "Actually... no! Your backend branch is updated, but main still doesn't have your changes!"
Backend Dev: "WHAT?! But I thought rebase puts my commits on top of main? Isn't that the same thing?"
Git Mentor: "Ah! This is one of the most common misunderstandings about Git! Let me show you exactly what happened and why main still doesn't have your changes!"
Backend Dev: "I want to merge my frontend branch into main, but when I try git checkout main, Git says 'fatal: main is already checked out at ../EcommerceWebsite3-backend'. I can't checkout main because it's being used in my backend worktree!"
Frontend Mentor: "Ah! This is a perfect situation to use one of Git's hidden superpowers - pushing to a local branch without checking it out!"
Backend Dev: "I'm looking at my Git history and I see that frontend branch has 13 commits that aren't on main, and main has 1 commit that frontend doesn't have. My mentor says I need to rebase. But... why? Why can't I just merge?"
Frontend Mentor: "Excellent question! This is where understanding the LOGIC of rebase becomes crucial. Let me show you exactly why rebase is necessary in this situation."
Backend Dev: "I just completed my first successful rebase and merge! Let me show you what I learned along the way."
Frontend Mentor: "This is perfect! Let's walk through exactly what happened so others can learn from your success!"
Backend Dev: "I have two worktrees - one for frontend and one for backend. When I commit in the backend worktree, does it show up in the original worktree? And when I merge backend into main, what happens to the backend branch?"
Frontend Mentor: "Great question! This is where Git worktrees become really magical. Let me show you exactly what's happening in your setup."