[BUG?] git remote rm repo nukes local refs for mirror repo

[BUG?] git remote rm repo nukes local refs for mirror repo

[Michael J Gruber]

I just noticed the hard way that "git remote rm repo" nukes all local
(mirrored) refs if repo had been setup with "git remote add --mirror
repo url".
Some may argue that this behaviour fits the description "deletes all
remote tracking branches" but I would claim it does not: mirrored
branches are not remote tracking branches in the proper sense.

So:
- Is this behaviour intended?
- If yes, how else would I remove a remote mirror configuration without
destroying a local repo? git config, I know, but that can't be the way.

Michael

Technical:
remote_find_tracking() in remote.c returns "branch" as the remote
tracking branch of "branch" (itself) in a mirror setup. Is this the
right thing to do?

Re: [BUG?] git remote rm repo nukes local refs for mirror repo

[Johannes Schindelin]

Hi,

On Tue, 14 Oct 2008, Michael J Gruber wrote:

> I just noticed the hard way that "git remote rm repo" nukes all local 
> (mirrored) refs if repo had been setup with "git remote add --mirror 
> repo url".
>
> Some may argue that this behaviour fits the description "deletes all 
> remote tracking branches" but I would claim it does not: mirrored 
> branches are not remote tracking branches in the proper sense.

Count me into the former group.  If you set up a "--mirror" repository, it 
defeats the purpose to mix that with _true_ local branches.

I'd color this a pilot error,
Dscho

Re: [BUG?] git remote rm repo nukes local refs for mirror repo

[Samuel Tardieu]

Michael> I just noticed the hard way that "git remote rm repo" nukes
Michael> all local (mirrored) refs if repo had been setup with "git
Michael> remote add --mirror repo url".  Some may argue that this
Michael> behaviour fits the description "deletes all remote tracking
Michael> branches" but I would claim it does not: mirrored branches
Michael> are not remote tracking branches in the proper sense.

Johannes> Count me into the former group.  If you set up a "--mirror"
Johannes> repository, it defeats the purpose to mix that with _true_
Johannes> local branches.

IMO it should exit with an error and force to use "--force" to perform
the operation. The scenario I envision is a mirror becoming the
primary repository because the original source has disappeared. You
would want to remove the now-useless reference to the source, and
silently nuking all branches is wrong.

  Sam
-- 
Samuel Tardieu -- sam@rfc1149.net -- http://www.rfc1149.net/

Re: [BUG?] git remote rm repo nukes local refs for mirror repo

[Michael J Gruber]

Johannes Schindelin venit, vidit, dixit 14.10.2008 11:32:
> Hi,
> 
> On Tue, 14 Oct 2008, Michael J Gruber wrote:
> 
>> I just noticed the hard way that "git remote rm repo" nukes all local 
>> (mirrored) refs if repo had been setup with "git remote add --mirror 
>> repo url".
>>
>> Some may argue that this behaviour fits the description "deletes all 
>> remote tracking branches" but I would claim it does not: mirrored 
>> branches are not remote tracking branches in the proper sense.
> 
> Count me into the former group.  If you set up a "--mirror" repository, it 
> defeats the purpose to mix that with _true_ local branches.
> 
> I'd color this a pilot error,
> Dscho

OK, I'll give some background about the motivation:

I have a "local" repo.
I want to create a "backup repo" which contains the same branches
(including proper remotes, svn remotes).

So, I create an empty bare repo somewhere (say store:backuprepo.git),
and in the local repo I do:

git remote add --mirror backup store:backuprepo.git
git push backup

I need "mirror=true" because otherwise branches are not created
automatically (on push) on the remote side. I need the '+refs/*:refs/*'
refspec because otherwise not all refs are mirrored. But now I can't use
"git remote rm backup" to remove the configuration because that would
take away all my local branches, too.

Instead, I could set up things with

git remote add backup store:backuprepo.git
git config remote.backup.push '+refs/*:refs/*'

Then all branches are mirrored on the remote automatically. But
interesting things happen after fetch and push... Read "recursion". So,
in order to avoid any remote/backup/foo branches on the local side I
would have to use

git remote add backup store:backuprepo.git
git config remote.backup.push '+refs/*:refs/*'
git config --unset remote.backup.fetch

in order to create a "backup remote" configuration. Maybe I'm just being
dense (which is actually OK for a functional analyst); I'd be happy
about any more direct solution. At least I think there should be one, a
backup bare remote mirror is a common use case, and the config massaging
above is not something to recommend to novice users.

Michael

P.S.: Yeah I know, git's no backup tool, there's rsync... ;)