1. Create a new branch AND switch to it immediately

Your uncommitted edits travel with you automatically

git checkout -b my-new-branch

2. Now commit your edits on the new branch

git add . git commit -m “Site edits — moved to own branch”

3. Push the new branch to GitHub

git push -u origin my-new-branch

> [!info]+ Command Breakdown
> 1. **`git checkout -b my-new-branch`**: Creates the new branch and switches to it in one step — crucially, all your uncommitted file changes come with you because they live in the working directory, not on any branch
> 2. **`git add .`**: Stages every modified file
> 3. **`git commit -m "..."`**: Locks your edits into the new branch's history
> 4. **`git push -u origin my-new-branch`**: Creates the branch on GitHub and sets it as the upstream — Railway can then be pointed at this branch

> [!success]+ Expected Result
> 1. `my-new-branch` exists on GitHub with all your edits committed
> 2. `main` is unchanged — still matches the original forked repo
> 3. Railway can be configured to deploy from `my-new-branch`

---

## Scenario B — Edits Are Already Committed on Main

*You already ran `git commit` — the changes are in `main`'s history*

```bash
# 1. Create a new branch at the current point in history
#    This copies main's current state (including your commits) into the new branch
git checkout -b my-new-branch

# 2. Push the new branch to GitHub
git push -u origin my-new-branch

# 3. Now go back to main and strip your commits off it
git checkout main

# 4. Reset main back to match the original remote (before your edits)
git reset --hard origin/main

[!info]+ Command Breakdown

1. git checkout -b my-new-branch: Creates a new branch that starts from exactly where main currently is — all your committed edits are included
2. git push -u origin my-new-branch: Pushes the new branch to GitHub before touching main — your work is safely backed up remotely
3. git checkout main: Switches back to main so you can clean it up
4. git reset --hard origin/main: Forces your local main to exactly match what GitHub’s main looks like — effectively removing your local commits from it

[!warning]+ Do Step 2 Before Step 4 Push my-new-branch to GitHub first. Once you reset main, those commits are gone from main locally. They are safe on my-new-branch but only if you pushed it first.

[!success]+ Expected Result

1. my-new-branch on GitHub contains all your site edits
2. main is clean — matches the original forked repo
3. No merging has occurred — the two branches are fully independent

Pointing Railway at Your New Branch

[!tip]+ Railway Deployment Branch

1. Go to your project in Railway
2. Navigate to Settings → Source
3. Change the deployment branch from main to my-new-branch
4. Railway will now build and deploy from your edits branch
5. main can remain as your clean baseline / fallback

Quick Reference — Your Exact Workflow

# ── CHECK WHERE YOU ARE ───────────────────────────────
git status                          # See uncommitted changes
git log --oneline -5                # See last 5 commits on current branch

# ── SCENARIO A (uncommitted edits) ───────────────────
git checkout -b my-new-branch       # Move edits to new branch
git add .                           # Stage everything
git commit -m "My site edits"       # Commit on new branch
git push -u origin my-new-branch    # Push to GitHub

# ── SCENARIO B (already committed on main) ────────────
git checkout -b my-new-branch       # Branch off current main
git push -u origin my-new-branch    # Push new branch FIRST (safety)
git checkout main                   # Go back to main
git reset --hard origin/main        # Strip your commits from main

# ── VERIFY EVERYTHING LOOKS RIGHT ────────────────────
git branch -a                       # See all branches
git log --oneline -5                # Check commit history on current branch
git checkout my-new-branch          # Switch to your edits branch to confirm

References

1. Git Official Documentation
2. git-checkout — Git Reference
3. git-reset — Git Reference
4. Railway Docs — Deployments
5. GitHub Docs — About Branches

#Git #GitHub #Railway #BranchManagement #Workflow #SiteDeployment