Can we communally deprecate git checkout?

git checkout vs switch / restore

• Many agree checkout conflates distinct actions: switching branches, updating files, and sometimes moving HEAD.
• Supporters of switch/restore say they reduce cognitive load by separating “change branch” from “change files,” and are safer for beginners.
• Critics argue checkout conceptually “just updates the working tree” and is fine; switch/restore feel like minor syntactic sugar not worth relearning.
• A major complaint: checkout infers whether an argument is a ref or a path, which can be ambiguous. The -b flag (create branch + switch) is seen as another conflation.

Complexity, mental models, and UX

• One camp insists Git is fundamentally simple for competent engineers; complexity complaints are overblown and often workflow issues.
• Another camp says Git’s interface and docs are messy, its concepts leak through everywhere, and it punishes users who don’t understand its internal model.
• Some suggest Git is fine as “plumbing,” but its “porcelain” and UX are poor; a good tool should let you operate correctly without understanding Merkle trees.

Merge vs rebase

• Several explanations contrast merge (history-preserving, branchy, faster in the moment) vs rebase (linear history, rewritten commits, easier debugging for some).
• Some see rebase as risky and time-wasting; others say it’s easy to recover via rebase --abort, tags, or reflog.
• A common pattern: rebase locally for cleanliness, merge once changes are shared.

Safety, data loss, and footguns

• Checkout is noted as one of the few commands that can irreversibly destroy data without --force.
• Others argue reset is the real “hot mess” and more dangerous than checkout, making the suggestion to “teach reset instead” alarming.

Tooling, GUIs, and non-engineers

• Some say non-engineers shouldn’t touch Git at all; if they must, that’s an organizational problem.
• Others counter that in labs, startups, and multidisciplinary teams, non-engineers inevitably use Git, often via GUIs, so simpler commands and better UX matter.

Habits, aliases, and teaching

• Several people stick with checkout (checkout -b especially) due to muscle memory; others deliberately retrained to use switch/restore, sometimes via shell traps.
• There is broad agreement that teaching new users clearer commands and workflows is valuable, but no consensus that checkout should be “communally deprecated.”