describe with --git-dir and --dirty outside of the repo always says dirty

describe with --git-dir and --dirty outside of the repo always says dirty

[Thomas Braun]

When I do

git describe --dirty

in clean repo of git.git I get

v2.53.0-522-g67006b9db8

but when I do it from outside of the repo

cd ..
git --git-dir=git/.git describe --dirty

I get

v2.53.0-522-g67006b9db8-dirty

Curiously I can workaround the issue by directly passing the work-tree

git --work-tree=git --git-dir=git/.git describe --dirty

I suspect 2ed5c8e174 (describe: setup working tree for --dirty, 
2019-02-03) has something to do with that.

Where should I start digging for a fix?

Re: describe with --git-dir and --dirty outside of the repo always says dirty

[Junio C Hamano]

Thomas Braun <thomas.braun@virtuell-zuhause.de> writes:

> When I do
>
> git describe --dirty
>
> in clean repo of git.git I get
>
> v2.53.0-522-g67006b9db8
>
> but when I do it from outside of the repo
>
> cd ..
> git --git-dir=git/.git describe --dirty

"--git-dir" tells git "I am at the root of the working tree, but the
git directory that you usually find at ".git" (or a parent directory
of where we are) is not where you expect but somewhere else, so I am
telling you where it is with this argument.

So if you are not at the root of the working tree for that working
tree, "git --git-dir=git/.git diff" would report that you have a ton
of changes to working tree files, and "describe" would report that
your working tree is dirty.

In other words, working as intended.

You can tell where the working tree is (instead of telling the
command that you are at the root of the working tree, when you are
not), with the "--work-tree" option.

$ git --git-dir=git/.git --work-tree=git describe --dirty

> Where should I start digging for a fix?

Between the keyboard and the chair ;-)?

Perhaps documentation for "--git-dir", GIT_DIR, "--work-tree", and
GIT_WORK_TREE should be studied, and if you find that they are
lacking, that is something we can fix.

Thanks.

Re: describe with --git-dir and --dirty outside of the repo always says dirty

[Patrick Steinhardt]

On Fri, Mar 13, 2026 at 01:29:29PM -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote:
> Thomas Braun <thomas.braun@virtuell-zuhause.de> writes:
> 
> > When I do
> >
> > git describe --dirty
> >
> > in clean repo of git.git I get
> >
> > v2.53.0-522-g67006b9db8
> >
> > but when I do it from outside of the repo
> >
> > cd ..
> > git --git-dir=git/.git describe --dirty
> 
> "--git-dir" tells git "I am at the root of the working tree, but the
> git directory that you usually find at ".git" (or a parent directory
> of where we are) is not where you expect but somewhere else, so I am
> telling you where it is with this argument.
> 
> So if you are not at the root of the working tree for that working
> tree, "git --git-dir=git/.git diff" would report that you have a ton
> of changes to working tree files, and "describe" would report that
> your working tree is dirty.
> 
> In other words, working as intended.
> 
> You can tell where the working tree is (instead of telling the
> command that you are at the root of the working tree, when you are
> not), with the "--work-tree" option.
> 
> $ git --git-dir=git/.git --work-tree=git describe --dirty

You can do that, but what you're probably looking for is `-C`:

    $ git -C /path/to/git describe --dirty

As Junio pointed out, "--git-dir" has a different effect, and you
typically don't have to use it unless you're doing weird stuff.

Patrick

Re: describe with --git-dir and --dirty outside of the repo always says dirty

[Thomas Braun]

Am 16.03.2026 um 09:22 schrieb Patrick Steinhardt:
> On Fri, Mar 13, 2026 at 01:29:29PM -0700, Junio C Hamano wrote:
>> Thomas Braun <thomas.braun@virtuell-zuhause.de> writes:
>>
>>> When I do
>>>
>>> git describe --dirty
>>>
>>> in clean repo of git.git I get
>>>
>>> v2.53.0-522-g67006b9db8
>>>
>>> but when I do it from outside of the repo
>>>
>>> cd ..
>>> git --git-dir=git/.git describe --dirty
>> "--git-dir" tells git "I am at the root of the working tree, but the
>> git directory that you usually find at ".git" (or a parent directory
>> of where we are) is not where you expect but somewhere else, so I am
>> telling you where it is with this argument.
>>
>> So if you are not at the root of the working tree for that working
>> tree, "git --git-dir=git/.git diff" would report that you have a ton
>> of changes to working tree files, and "describe" would report that
>> your working tree is dirty.
>>
>> In other words, working as intended.
>>
>> You can tell where the working tree is (instead of telling the
>> command that you are at the root of the working tree, when you are
>> not), with the "--work-tree" option.
>>
>> $ git --git-dir=git/.git --work-tree=git describe --dirty
> You can do that, but what you're probably looking for is `-C`:
>
>      $ git -C /path/to/git describe --dirty
>
> As Junio pointed out, "--git-dir" has a different effect, and you
> typically don't have to use it unless you're doing weird stuff.

Thanks both Junio and Patrick. The documentation is not lacking and 
fully explains
that -C is the way to go. I should have checked first.

My lameish excuse for originally using --git-dir is that -C which was 
added in
44e1e4d67d (git: run in a directory given with -C option, 2013-09-09) 
was too
new back then I added the code originally in 2014.

Thomas