Moving Branches

Overview

GitButler allows you to move branches between stacks through a simple drag-and-drop interface. This is useful when you want to reorganize your work, change branch dependencies, or consolidate related branches into a single stack.

Moving a Branch to Another Stack

You can move a branch from one stack to another by dragging it to a specific position in the target stack.

How to Move a Branch

1. Drag the branch header - Click and hold on the branch header (the section displaying the branch name)
2. Drop on target location - Drag it to the position where you want to insert it in another stack

When you hover over a valid drop target during the drag operation, you'll see visual indicators showing where the branch will be placed.

Drop Zones

There are two types of drop zones when moving branches:

• Between branches - Drop the branch between two existing branches in a stack to insert it at that position
• Top of stack - Drop at the top of a stack to make the moved branch the first branch

The drop zones appear as horizontal lines with visual feedback when you hover over them during a drag operation.

Creating a New Stack (Tearing Off)

You can also separate a branch from its current stack and create a new independent stack for it. This is called "tearing off" a branch.

How to Tear Off a Branch

1. Drag the branch header - Click and hold on the branch header you want to separate
2. Drop outside the stacks area - Drag it to the designated dropzone outside of the existing stacks

This creates a new standalone stack containing just that branch.

Important Considerations

Branch Requirements

Not all branches can be moved. A branch must meet these conditions to be movable:

• No conflicts - The branch must not have any merge conflicts
• Has commits - The branch must contain at least one commit
• Different target stack - You can only move branches to different stacks (not within the same stack)

What Happens During a Move

When you move a branch:

1. Branch is extracted - The branch and its commits are extracted from the source stack
2. Rebasing occurs - The branch is rebased onto the new base in the target stack
3. References updated - Git references are updated to reflect the new structure
4. Stack cleanup - If the moved branch was the last one in its stack, that stack is deleted

Pull Request Updates

If you're using GitHub integration and the branch has an associated pull request:

• PR descriptions are automatically updated - The PR base and description are updated to reflect the new stack structure
• Stack PRs are synchronized - All PRs in both the source and target stacks have their descriptions updated to maintain proper stacking information

Related Features

• Stacked Branches - Learn about working with stacked branches
• Branch Lanes - Understand the branch lane interface
• Virtual Branches - Core concepts of GitButler's virtual branch system