git topics start
Starts a new topic branch named forked off of master. If master is
tracking a remote branch, git topics start makes an effort to ensure your
local master branch is up to date first. This avoids starting your topic
based on old code and having to rebase it later.
To keep master up to date, this command will git fetch the remote branch
for any pending commits. If the local branch is behind, the topic branch will
not be created. If the fetch itself fails, the topic branch will still be
created, but there will be a warning. That way, transient issues like internet
connection problems won't get in the way of your development.
Essentially, this command is equivalent to
$ git checkout <master>
$ git pull
$ git checkout -b <topic>except that it only does a git fetch, not a full git pull. If a git merge
is required, it'll stop short of the actual branch creation.
git-topics(1), git-topics-setup(1), git-checkout(1), git-fetch(1), git-merge(1), git-pull(1)