GitMon
Git Developer Guide
Git ahead and behind remote: what it means and how to fix it
The 3 States of Remote Tracking
1. Ahead (e.g. "ahead by 2 commits")
You made commits locally that have not yet been pushed to GitHub or GitLab. Fix: git push.
2. Behind (e.g. "behind by 3 commits")
Teammates or CI pushed new commits to the remote repository that you don't have yet. Fix: git pull --rebase.
3. Diverged (e.g. "ahead 1, behind 2")
Both you and the remote have commits that the other lacks. Fix: git pull --rebase origin <branch> to rebase your local commits onto the latest remote tip.
Inspecting the Commits
To see which commits are ahead vs behind before pushing or pulling:
# View commits you have that remote lacks (ahead)
git log @{u}..HEAD --oneline
# View commits remote has that you lack (behind)
git log HEAD..@{u} --onelineHow GitMon keeps you updated
GitMon computes ahead (↑) and behind (↓) counts natively for every repository and branch. You always know whether you need to push or pull with a single glance at your macOS menu bar.