cloning empty repo

cloning empty repo

[Marijn Schouten (hkBst)]

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Hi list,

is there any reason why cloning an empty repository should result in an error
instead of a succesfully cloned empty repo?

Marijn

PS Please CC me
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Re: cloning empty repo

[Shawn O. Pearce]

"Marijn Schouten (hkBst)" <hkBst@gentoo.org> wrote:
> is there any reason why cloning an empty repository should result in an error
> instead of a succesfully cloned empty repo?

There's nothing to clone.  The repository is empty.

If you create a Git repository using `git init` and then create
another one also using `git init` then both repositories are empty,
and an empty repository is identical to every other empty repository.

So if you want to setup an empty repository and then clone nothing,
you actually can just setup another empty repository and configure
the 'origin' remote:

	mkdir a; cd a; git init; cd ..

	mkdir b; cd b; git init
	# now a and b are identical

	git remote add origin ../a/.git
	# now b is a "clone" of a's nothingness...

-- 
Shawn.

Re: cloning empty repo

[Josh Triplett]

Shawn O. Pearce wrote:
> "Marijn Schouten (hkBst)" <hkBst@gentoo.org> wrote:
>> is there any reason why cloning an empty repository should result in an error
>> instead of a succesfully cloned empty repo?
> 
> There's nothing to clone.  The repository is empty.
> 
> If you create a Git repository using `git init` and then create
> another one also using `git init` then both repositories are empty,
> and an empty repository is identical to every other empty repository.
> 
> So if you want to setup an empty repository and then clone nothing,
> you actually can just setup another empty repository and configure
> the 'origin' remote:
> 
> 	mkdir a; cd a; git init; cd ..
> 
> 	mkdir b; cd b; git init
> 	# now a and b are identical
> 
> 	git remote add origin ../a/.git
> 	# now b is a "clone" of a's nothingness...

You can also simulate a clone of any other repository by using a similar
series of commands; git clone exists so that you don't have to.  Why not allow
cloning an empty repository, which would give you an empty repository with the
correct origin remote?

- Josh Triplett