Because they are referring to different things. `mybranch` is a reference in your local repository. `origin/mybranch` is a reference on a remote repository that you call `origin`, `origin/mybranch` is just a representation of this remote reference for convenience.

So, if we take the example from derefr [1], `git chekcout foo` lets you go to your own local branch `foo`. Then, `git reset --hard origin/foo` modifies the current local ref (`foo`) to be the same as `origin/foo`, and change the working directory accordingly.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38118475

Does 'origin/mybranch' is referring to the local copy of the remote branch? Why can I run 'git checkout origin/mybranch'(which results in a detached head) but not 'git switch origin/mybranch'?

Also git reset appears to be taking a commit as the final parameter, git reset [--soft | --mixed [-N] | --hard | --merge | --keep] [-q] [<commit>]

But why it is accepting `origin/mybranch`.

I am mostly rambling - feel free to ignore me.

perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but this doesn't read so much as why as it does a rephrasing of the problem with an example

That tends to happen a lot with git and other fads in the tech industry. See the discussion here where people are defending how git has the misleading message of “ Your branch is up to date with origin/master.” A lot of rationalizations working backwards.

> some commands take remote branches as `origin mybranch`

That isn't a single argument, that's two arguments. If you look at docs for some commands which accept `origin mybranch`, git fetch for example, it says the first argument is `<repository>` which can either be a URL or a remote name. In your example it's a remote called `origin`. The 2nd argument is then a `<refspec>` which is a bit complex - it specifies what to fetch and where to fetch it. So in your example `mybranch` is shorthand for `mybranch:mybranch` (i.e. fetch `mybranch` from `origin` and update local `mybranch`). You can even do `git fetch origin mybranch:mybranch-local` which would fetch `mybranch` from `origin` and update `mybranch-local` with it.

This one gets me constantly even after using Git for nearly a decade. My workflow where I try it one way and then the other is uncannily similar to how most people have to flip a USB at least once to get it plugged in. No idea why it's like this.

I think origin/mybranch is a ref to a commit that was the current one when you last did a git fetch. `origin mybranch` fetches the latest commit from the origin.