What is the difference between git remote update, git fetch and git pull?

The difference between git remote update, git fetch, and git pull lies in their respective actions and how they interact with the remote repository:

git remote update:

This command updates your local repository's remote-tracking branches to match those of the remote repository.

It does not modify your working directory or index but updates the metadata about the remote repository's branches in your local repository.

git remote update is useful for syncing your local repository's view of the remote repository without incorporating any changes into your working directory.

git fetch:

This command retrieves new changes from the remote repository but does not integrate them into your working directory or index.

It updates your local repository's remote-tracking branches to reflect the state of the remote repository.

Unlike git remote update, git fetch allows you to specify which branches or tags you want to fetch from the remote repository.

After running git fetch, you can inspect the changes fetched from the remote repository using tools like git log or git diff.

git pull:

This command combines git fetch and git merge or git rebase to fetch new changes from the remote repository and integrate them into your current branch.

It automatically retrieves changes from the remote repository and merges or rebases them into your working directory and index.

git pull is convenient for quickly updating your local branch with the latest changes from the remote repository, but it may lead to merge conflicts that need to be resolved manually.

In summary, git remote update updates your local repository's view of the remote repository, git fetch retrieves new changes from the remote repository without modifying your working directory, and git pull fetches and integrates changes from the remote repository into your current branch.