--- /dev/null
+#!/bin/bash
+
+#checks out the given branch
+
+if [ "$1" = "" ] ; then
+ echo "please provide one of the branch names:"
+ git branch -a
+ exit
+fi
+
+git checkout -b $1 origin/$1
+git config branch.$1.remote origin
+git config branch.$1.merge refs/heads/$1
+