title: Why can’t I use git pull with a local branch?
body: <p>I am new to git. What is the difference between specifying a local branch and not?</p>
  
  <pre><code>$ git pull origin master : local-branch
   ! [rejected]   master  -&gt; local-branch  (non-fast-forward)
  
  $ git pull origin master
   * branch      master     -&gt; FETCH_HEAD
  </code></pre>