Git is an open-source project that you save on either GitHub or GitLab. The best part of saving a git in the repository is to make it open for programmers or even non-programmers. You can even allow your team to work remotely on any program that you save as a git in the repository. When you are working on the git, you may get a few issues that you must be wondering to resolve it. You may also encounter “error: Please move or remove them before you switch branches”.
Don’t get panicked when you see this warning as it is not a hard nut to crack. As you are here to get the error warning removed, we provide valuable tips to help you solve the branches switch error. Take a look at how you get the error warning
How error warning shows up
When you try to undefined, you get the error warning. Have a look at it
error: The following untracked working tree files would be overwritten by checkout:
source/a/foo.c
...... (too many lines)
Please move or remove them before you can switch branches.
Aborting
The error seems frustrating right? Go ahead with the next section to know how you can handle this error
How to Tackle the Error “error: Please move or remove them before you switch branches”
The error occurs when documents are not tracked, and it is unable to detect by git rm –Cashed as they are not in the index. This is the main reason for the error warning “error: Please move or remove them before you switch branches”.
Now that you know what is causing the error warning, it is time to look for a quick solution.
Solutions to fix the error
With the help of the file manager or rm, you can simply remove it. Once done, you can have the checkout process works correctly. You need to note that you will get git perceived the file, and this will be done using git status that will guide you. It will show you the file’s status, be it changed, tracked, or untracked. In the case, you choose extra options, the git status will also inform you which files are ignored. The following command can help you solve the issue
git switch -f master
Another command that proves to be beneficial when it comes to solving the error. Check out the command
git checkout -f master
To force checkout, you can also use –force.
Conclusion
In this article, we shed light on how to fix “error: Please move or remove them before you switch branches”. An amazing solution with a few commands can help you get rid of the git error warning.
I hope it helps solve the error!
Don’t hesitate to share your opinion! Comment below if you need assistance!
Reference Source: https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Sourcetree-questions/I-am-not-able-to-switch-from-my-local-branch-to-master-branch/qaq-p/1122542