Git concepts: fetching

In Git, fetching is the process of downloading changes from a remote repository to your local repository, but not integrating them into your working project. The 'git fetch' command pulls down all the data from a remote project that you do not currently have, updating your local repository with references to all branches in the remote repository.

Fetching allows you to see the progress and changes that others have made to the remote repository. However, it's important to note that 'git fetch' does not merge any changes into your local branches. It does not manipulate, update, or alter your own work.

To integrate the changes into your local branch, you would use the 'git merge' command. Alternatively, 'git pull' can be used to do a fetch and a merge in one step.

In summary, fetching in Git is the act of downloading the latest data from a remote repository, allowing you to review changes made by others before integrating them into your local branch.