Til ;Jul 2026 ;1 min read

git switch beats git checkout #

git switch -c branch says what it does; checkout is four tools in a trenchcoat.

git checkout does too much: it moves branches, restores files, detaches HEAD, and creates branches — all under one overloaded verb. That’s why it’s a classic source of “I ran the right command and lost my changes.”

Since Git 2.23 the job is split into two honest commands:

git switch -c new-feature   # create and move to a branch
git switch main             # move to an existing branch
git restore path/to/file    # discard changes to a file

switch only changes branches. restore only touches files. The name tells you the blast radius before you hit enter.