[Git] Notice: Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by X commits — Local branch not pushed yet — How to Fix It

Summary

Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by X commits is not an error — it’s a Git status message indicating that your local branch contains commits that haven’t yet been pushed to the remote repository. Until you push, these commits exist only on your local machine.

Context

This message appears after you commit locally but before running git push. Git is simply warning you that your remote repository (on GitHub, GitLab, etc.) is behind and doesn’t yet include your new commits.

Probable Cause

  • You made new commits locally after your last push.
  • You worked offline and forgot to push after reconnecting.
  • Your local branch isn’t properly tracking origin/main.
  • You’re pushing to a different remote or branch unintentionally.

Quick Fix

  1. Check your current branch status: 
    git status

    You’ll see something like: Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 3 commits.

  2. See which commits are pending push: 
    git log origin/main..HEAD --oneline
  3. Push your commits to synchronize with remote: 
    git push origin main
  4. If tracking is misconfigured, fix it: 
    git branch -vv

    If needed, re-link the branch:

    git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/main main
  5. If you don’t want to keep these commits (⚠️ destructive): 
    git reset --hard origin/main
  6. Verify synchronization: 
    git status

    It should now show: Your branch is up to date with 'origin/main'.

Example

# Before pushing
$ git status
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 2 commits.

# Review commits not yet pushed
$ git log origin/main..HEAD --oneline
a17c9f1 Add README section
b92ed4e Fix API handler naming

# Push them
$ git push origin main
Enumerating objects: 5, done.
To https://github.com/user/repo.git
   4a38e1d..b92ed4e  main -> main

Alternate Scenarios

  • “ahead by 1 commit” — one local commit waiting to be pushed.
  • “ahead by 3, behind by 1” — local and remote diverged; pull first, then push.
  • “ahead of origin/master” — same issue but on an older branch naming convention.

Pitfalls & Debug

  • Symptom → Branch tracking broken. Fix → Use git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/main main.
  • Symptom → Pushed to wrong remote. Fix → Verify remotes with git remote -v.
  • Symptom → Remote branch deleted or renamed. Fix → Run git fetch --prune and re-establish tracking.

Verification & Next Steps

# Confirm remotes
git remote -v

# Check local tracking
git branch -vv

# Compare local and remote commits
git log origin/main..HEAD --oneline

Best Practices

  • Push frequently to avoid divergence and confusion.
  • Use descriptive commit messages — they’ll appear in your remote history.
  • Always check git status before switching branches or resetting.
  • Keep branch tracking correct with git branch -vv.

Sources

Git Documentation — git status

Stack Overflow — branch ahead of origin

Labels

Tool/Git, OS/Cross-platform, Topic/Branch Synchronization