Re: [PATCH] MAINTAINERS: name the ext4 dev branch

[Niklas Cassel <cassel@kernel.org>]

On Sat, Sep 26, 2026 at 02:11:01PM +0800, Matthias Goergens wrote:
> Hi Niklas,
> 
> On Fri, Sep 25, 2026 at 03:06:28PM +0200, Niklas Cassel wrote:
> > For the record, there is no need to use a gitolite specific command,
> > regular:
> >
> > $ git remote set-head libata for-next
> >
> > works.
> 
> Did you mean this as a way to change the server's default branch, or
> for each consumer to run in its own clone?
> 
> For the server, I tried it with a scratch bare repository that has
> master and for-next, and it looks to me as if set-head only moves
> refs/remotes/origin/HEAD in the clone where it runs.  The server's HEAD
> stays on master, and so do ls-remote and a fresh clone.  With git
> 2.55.0, this script:
> 
>   git init --quiet --bare --initial-branch=master server.git
>   git clone --quiet server.git work
>   git -C work commit --quiet --allow-empty --message one
>   git -C work push --quiet origin HEAD:master HEAD:for-next
>   git --git-dir=server.git symbolic-ref HEAD
>   git -C work remote set-head origin for-next
>   git -C work symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD
>   git --git-dir=server.git symbolic-ref HEAD
>   git ls-remote --symref server.git HEAD
>   git clone --quiet server.git consumer
>   git -C consumer symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD
> 
> prints
> 
>   refs/heads/master
>   refs/remotes/origin/for-next
>   refs/heads/master
>   ref: refs/heads/master  HEAD
>   (object id)  HEAD
>   refs/remotes/origin/master
> 
> For each consumer's own clone, it works, as long as the consumer knows
> which branch to pick; for tools that read MAINTAINERS, that is what
> naming the branch in the T: entry would tell them.  Have I missed
> something?

You are right.

Even though:
https://git-scm.com/docs/git-remote#Documentation/git-remote.txt-set-head

says:
Set or delete the default branch (i.e. the target of the symbolic-ref
refs/remotes/<name>/HEAD) for the named remote.

And:

$ git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/libata/HEAD

gets updated, it still only seems to get applied in my local repo,
even after a git push.

Seems like gitolite commands are actually needed then.
I'm sorry for misleading you guys.


Kind regards,
Niklas