Navigate local git branches with ease

#git #bash #terminal

Do you find yourself navigating frequently between local git branches? I put together this bash function that allows you to checkout to a branch using a simple wildcard search.

Syntax: br {any_word} where any_word is a part of a branch name. So if I have a branch called "honey nut cheerios", I could type br cheerios and then my terminal would checkout to that branch.

If there are multiple matches, it just shows all matches onscreen. Then you can switch manually.

Hope you find it useful!

function br {
    OUTPUT=$(git branch --list *$1*;)
    if (( $(grep -c . <<<"$OUTPUT") > 1 )); then
      echo Multiple branches found:
      echo "${OUTPUT}"
    else
      TRIMMED_OUTPUT=$(echo "${OUTPUT}" | xargs)
      echo "Switching to:${TRIMMED_OUTPUT}"
      git checkout "${TRIMMED_OUTPUT}"
    fi
}