git中&#39;：&#39;的用法是什么 <branch_name> ： <branch_name>

Question

I have seen many git commands with syntax like:- <branch_name>:<branch_name> like git push origin (<branch_name>:<branch_name>) . What exactly is the meaning of : here (why 2 times branch name)? Also, I want to know the difference between git push origin <branch_name> and git push origin <branch_name>:<branch_name>

Answer 1

With colon notation, a soure and a destination can be defined ( <source>:<destination> ), to

Specify what destination ref to update with what source object.

See the git push documentation about refspecs and the answers to this question