Understand what branches are and how to create and list them.
In Git, a branch is a lightweight, movable pointer to a specific commit. Think of it as an independent timeline of your project's history. The default branch is usually named `main` (or `master`). When you start a project, you are on this branch. Branching allows you to diverge from the main line of development and continue to work in isolation without affecting the stable `main` branch. This is incredibly useful for developing new features or fixing bugs. For example, you can create a new branch called `new-feature`, work on it for days or weeks, and the `main` branch will remain untouched. To create a new branch, you use the command `git branch <branch-name>`. To see a list of all the branches in your local repository, you can simply run `git branch`. The currently active branch will be marked with an asterisk. This ability to create isolated environments for development is what makes Git so flexible and powerful for both solo developers and large teams.