Remotes

Figure 2 shows a goods yard with 2 bays. The near bay is your repository. The far bay is the remote repository. The remote is also called origin.

A remote is a copy of the repository on a different computer. The copy has its own branches and its own commits.

The gantry

The gantry moves a wagon between the bays. The gantry is the network connection. A wagon that exists in both bays is in the figure 2 times. This is important. The remote does not point to your wagon. The remote has its own copy.

Push

git push sends your commits to the remote. Push copies the commits that the remote does not have. Push does not remove the commits from your repository.

In Figure 2, press the p key. The gantry moves the wagon C to the far bay. The commit C is then in both bays.

Fetch

git fetch gets the new commits from the remote. Fetch puts the commits in your repository. Fetch does not change your branch. Fetch does not change your files.

Pull

git pull is a fetch and then a merge. Pull gets the new commits. Pull then puts them on your branch.

In Figure 2, press the l key. The gantry moves the wagon D to the near bay.

The difference