Branches - Git Recipes - page 178

The repository now looks like Figure 5-11 .
Figure 5-11 . The new commits x1, x2, and x3 created in a detached HEAD state
In the state shown in Figure 5-11 the .git/HEAD file contains the SHA-1 name of
x3 revision. If you now switch to the branch master with the $ git checkout
master command then the state of the repository will change as shown in Figure
5-12 . This is exactly the state shown in Figure 5-8 with .git/HEAD explicitly shown.
The reference to .git/HEAD is usually skipped in the figures because the same in-
formation—when necessary—can be presented with an asterisk prepended to the mas-
ter.