Git Tags

Tag

A tag is a named reference to a specific commit. Unlike branches, tags don’t move — they always point to the exact same commit.

• can be placed on any commit

• tags are not pushed automatically — even if the commit they point to is pushed
• Advantages
  • Log the versions
  • Rollbacks
  • Documentations + release notes
• tag commands

Example

git commit -m "Add v1.0.0 changes"
git tag v1.0.0
git push origin main

• ✅ The commit is pushed to main.
• ❌ The v1.0.0 tag is NOT pushed unless you do:

git push origin v1.0.0    # push one tag
# or
git push origin --tags    # push all local tags

Types

Lightweight tag

# Adds the v1.0 tag in the current commit 
git tag v1.0

• Just points to the current commit (no metadata)
• git checkout v1.0
  • you can use this command to move to that point in code

Annotated tag

git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"
# you can also tag older commits
git tag -a v1.0.0 <commit-hash>

• has author, message, date (recommended)

Branch & Tags differences

	Branch	Tag
Purpose	A workspace for development	Used to mark and reference a specific point (version)
Mobility	Moves along with new commits (keeps updating)	Fixed to a specific commit and does not change
When Used	For feature development, bug fixes, experiments	For deployments, releases, or when reaching a milestone
Type	Pointer (a moving reference point)	Label (a fixed reference point)

Sematic versioning

Version format	Desc
MAJOR	Major changes incompatible with previous versions (e.g., removing features, structural changes)
MINOR	Adding new features compatible with previous versions (e.g., new APIs)
PATCH	Bug fixes compatible with previous versions (e.g., fixing errors, optimizations)

Tag Management Strategy by Development Stage

Versions before official release can also be clearly managed using tags:

• v1.0.0-alpha: Early experimental version
• v1.0.0-beta: Beta testing version
• v1.0.0-rc.1: Release Candidate (candidate for final release)