Git Fetch:

Purpose:

The "git fetch" command is used to retrieve changes from a remote repository (such as the one hosted on Azure DevOps) to your local repository. It doesn't automatically merge or apply these changes to your working branch; it only updates your local references to the remote branches.

Use Case:

Use "git fetch" when you want to see what changes are available in the remote repository without merging them into your working branch immediately. It's helpful for reviewing changes before deciding to incorporate them into your codebase.

Example:

#Fetch changes from the remote repository (origin in this case)
git fetch origin

#List branches, including remote branches, to see what's available
git branch -av

This will fetch all the changes from the remote repository, but your local working branch won't be updated automatically.

Git Pull:

Purpose

The "git pull" command is used to fetch changes from a remote repository and automatically merge them into your current local branch. It is essentially a combination of "git fetch" and "git merge."

Use Case

Use "git pull" when you want to quickly update your local branch with the latest changes from the remote branch and are ready to merge them into your working branch.

#Pull changes from the remote repository (origin) and merge them into the current branch
git pull origin dev

I hope from all the above examples you have learned that "git fetch" is useful for checking what changes are available in the remote repository without immediately applying them to your working branch. On the other hand, "git pull" fetches and merges changes from the remote repository into your current branch in one step. Choose the one that best fits your workflow and needs in Azure DevOps.

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