Can't remove a remote git branch

Question

This is what I'm doing.... how do I get rid of the origin remote branch? And what is it?

[master] /dir: git status
# On branch master
nothing to commit (working directory clean)

[master] /dir: git remote show
github

[master] /dir: git branch -r
  github/master
  origin/HEAD -> origin/master

[master] /dir: git branch -rd origin/HEAD
error: remote branch 'origin/HEAD' not found.

[master] /dir: git branch -rd origin
error: remote branch 'origin' not found.

[master] /dir: git branch -rd origin/HEAD -> origin/master
-bash: origin/master: No such file or directory

[master] /Applications/MAMP/htdocs/asanawww: git branch -rd origin/master
error: remote branch 'origin/master' not found.

[master] /Applications/MAMP/htdocs/asanawww: git push origin :master
fatal: 'origin' does not appear to be a git repository
fatal: The remote end hung up unexpectedly

I also tried

git gc --prune=now

with no luck

`origin/HEAD` is not a branch, it is a reference pointing to `origin/master`, which is the branch. — Maic López Sáenz, Jan 24 '13 at 01:23

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:50

4

I'm sorry that I don't haven enough reputation to add a comment.

I realize it is really a comment rather than an answer, but this question may help.

The solution:

git remote set-head origin -d

edited May 23 '17 at 11:50

Community

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answered Jan 24 '13 at 01:32

dyng

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Maic López Sáenz · Answer 2 · 2015-03-10T16:45:34.947

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You should do:

git branch -rd origin/master

Take into consideration that this command will delete the remote branch locally, that is the 'origin/master' reference that is kept in your repository. If that branch still exists in the remote the 'origin/master' reference will be created again when there is a pull or a fetch.

To properly delete it from the remote you can use:

git push origin :master

This <local>:<remote> notation means that the <local> reference will be pushed as the <remote> branch. By using :master you mean that "no reference" is to pushed as master, thus deleting it.

Yet another alternative is to do a delete push:

git push --delete origin master

edited Mar 10 '15 at 16:45

answered Jan 24 '13 at 01:29

Maic López Sáenz

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Thanks for your help - I tried the commands above and they failed - I believe it's because the remote origin doesn't exist? error: remote branch 'origin/master' not found. fatal: 'origin' does not appear to be a git repository – Justin Jan 24 '13 at 17:48

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 11 '18 at 14:21

Maybe you need to remove the work-tree associated with local branch (in case it was checked into another directory)

git worktree remove work-tree-directory --force //use force if its dirty

then you can delete the branch using

 git branch -D branch-to-delete  // -D is for force delete, for normal use -d

Can't remove a remote git branch

3 Answers3