Tags

A tag is a ref that, unlike a branch, doesn’t move — it permanently marks one specific commit, most commonly used for release versions (v1.0.0, v2.3.1).

Lightweight vs. annotated

	Lightweight	Annotated
What it is	A plain pointer to a commit	A full object: tagger, date, message, optional GPG signature
Create with	`git tag v1.0.0`	`git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release 1.0.0"`
Use for	Private, throwaway bookmarks	Public releases — almost always the right choice

Creating tags

git tag v1.0.0                              # lightweight, on HEAD
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release 1.0.0"         # annotated, on HEAD
git tag -a v0.9.0 <sha> -m "Retroactive tag" # annotated, on a specific commit
git tag -s v1.0.0 -m "Release 1.0.0"         # GPG-signed annotated tag

Listing and inspecting

git tag                          # list all tags
git tag -l "v1.*"                # filter by pattern
git show v1.0.0                  # show the tag's message and the commit it points to

Pushing tags

Tags are not pushed by a plain git push — they need to be pushed explicitly:

git push origin v1.0.0        # push one tag
git push origin --tags        # push every local tag
git push --follow-tags        # push commits + any annotated tags reachable from them

Checking out a tag

git checkout v1.0.0            # detached HEAD at that commit
git switch -c hotfix v1.0.0    # branch off a tag instead, if you'll commit

Deleting tags

git tag -d v1.0.0                    # delete locally
git push origin --delete v1.0.0      # delete on the remote