Pushing Your Changes to the Server with git push

The git push command (to push) is the operation responsible for sending your local commits to the remote repository and updating the server to reflect your new history.

In the previous article, we learned how to bring the team’s work to our computer using fetch and pull. Now it’s time to do exactly the opposite path: publish your code so the rest of the team can download and use it.

Let’s see how to use git push, and how to solve the problems you might encounter when using this command (and how to fix them).

Normal Push

If you are working on a branch that already exists both on your computer and on the server (for example, the main branch), the operation is straightforward.

Simply open the terminal and execute:

git push

<lll-ui-git-timeline config=’{ “scenarios”: [ { “title”: “Before the Push”, “commits”: [ {“id”:“A”, “col”:0}, {“id”:“B”, “parent”:“A”, “col”:1}, {“id”:“C”, “parent”:“B”, “col”:2} ], “branches”: { “origin/main”: { “target”: “B”, “offset”: 50 }, “main”: { “target”: “C”, “offset”: -50 } }, “head”: { “target”: “main”, “type”: “branch” }, “terminal”: { “cmd”: ”git push”, “comment”: ”# origin/main advances to C. Synchronized.” } } ] }’>

fatal: The current branch mi-nueva-feature has no upstream branch.
To push the current branch and set the remote as upstream, use

    git push --set-upstream origin mi-nueva-feature

git push -u origin mi-nueva-feature

When Git Rejects Your Push

Now things get a bit more complicated, Git has rejected your Push. You tried to push, but your console fills with red letters:

! [rejected]        main -> main (fetch first)
error: failed to push some refs to 'github.com:...'
hint: Updates were rejected because the remote contains work that you do not have locally.

Don’t worry, nothing is broken. This is simply Git’s defense mechanism kicking in. Git is protecting the server’s code.

If Git accepted your upload right now, your history would overwrite your teammate’s and their commits would be deleted. That’s why it rejects the operation.

The Solution: Download and Integrate

The error message itself gives you the clue: (fetch first).

As we saw in the previous article, you have to bring the server’s code to your machine, integrate it with yours, and then upload the final result.

<lll-ui-git-timeline config=’{ “scenarios”: [ { “title”: “Initial Situation”, “commits”: [ {“id”:“A”, “col”:0}, {“id”:“B”, “parent”:“A”, “col”:1}, {“id”:“C”, “parent”:“B”, “msg”:“Teammate”, “col”:2, “row”:-1}, {“id”:“D”, “parent”:“B”, “msg”:“You”, “col”:2, “row”:1} ], “branches”: { “origin/main”: “C”, “main”: “D” }, “head”: { “target”: “main”, “type”: “branch” }, “terminal”: { “cmd”: ”git push”, “comment”: ”# Now main contains everything. The push goes through without issues.” } }, { “title”: “After the Push”, “commits”: [ {“id”:“A”, “col”:0}, {“id”:“B”, “parent”:“A”, “col”:1}, {“id”:“C”, “parent”:“B”, “msg”:“Teammate”, “col”:2, “row”:-1}, {“id”:“D”, “parent”:“B”, “msg”:“You”, “col”:2, “row”:1}, {“id”:“M”, “parent”:“C”, “parent2”:“D”, “msg”:“Merge”, “col”:3, “row”:0} ], “branches”: { “origin/main”: { “target”: “M”, “offset”: 50 }, “main”: { “target”: “M”, “offset”: -50 } }, “head”: { “target”: “main”, “type”: “branch” }, “terminal”: { “cmd”: ”$ git push”, “comment”: ”# origin/main catches up to main at M. Everything synchronized.” } } ] }’>

git push -f