git fetch vs git pull: what's the difference?

git fetch downloads new commits from GitHub into origin/main but leaves your branch and files alone. git pull does a fetch and then merges origin/main into your branch.

Step by step

Download the news, change nothing:
```
$ git fetch
```
See what changed on GitHub:
```
$ git log main..origin/main
```
Merge it into your branch:
```
$ git merge origin/main
```
Or do both at once:
```
$ git pull
```

origin/main is your computer's memory of GitHub's main. It only moves when you fetch, pull or push.

Try it in the interactive sandbox →Practice “Pull” with a real repository and teammates, right in your browser.

git fetch vs git pull: what's the difference?

Step by step

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