How to bring the git remote branch references local

Question

One creates a new git branch:

git checkout -b test

and pushed it to origin:

git push origin -u test

and listing all the branches now I get:

  master
* test
  remotes/origin/HEAD -> origin/master
  remotes/origin/master
  remotes/origin/test

Now, on another machine I want execute a command to get the remote branch refs. How can I do this?

I want to have the output:

* master
  remotes/origin/HEAD -> origin/master
  remotes/origin/master
  remotes/origin/test

And the command IS NOT AWARE of the name of the new branches.

I have tried: git pull, git pull --all, git fetch, git fetch --all. What else?

EDIT: I need a command that tells me:

* [new branch]      test       -> origin/test

Is this possible WITHOUT checking out a branch first? I also don't want to remove my repo and clone it again.

So you want to check out a branch that has been created, without knowing its name? — CharlesB, Sep 03 '13 at 12:50
No, I want to get/list all the branches that have been created on my remote `origin` — Gabriel Petrovay, Apr 30 '14 at 11:21

score 4 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:11

on another machine I want execute a command to get the remote branch refs.

You can initiate an empty repo, add an origin and do a ls-remote (as done in the comments of your other question):

git init newRepo
cd newRepo
git remote add origin /url/remote/repo
git ls-remote origin

That allows you to see the branches of the remote repo without having to clone / fetch anything locally.
And since you are in an empty repo, you can then decide what to fetch.

As jthill mentions in the comments, the git ls-remote part doesn't need to be run from a git repo.
As an example, consider:

cd / # to illustrate that you can be anywhere
git ls-remote git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git 'refs/heads/*'

If you have already a cloned repo, and don't mind to download the delta, then a git fetch should work, provided that its refspec is set to fetch all branches.
(Again, as shown in your other question "git checkout new remote branch when cloning with depth 1 option")

git config remote.origin.fetch "+refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*"

`git ls-remote` works from anywhere, you don't need to init a throwaway. `( cd /; git ls-remote git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git 'refs/heads/*'; )` — jthill, May 06 '14 at 02:00
@jthill True. I have included your comment in the answer for more visibility. — VonC, May 06 '14 at 05:23

CharlesB · Answer 2 · 2013-09-03T12:49:33.923

0

To list the remote branches of a local repository, in this case it's

$ git branch --remote |grep origin

In your case, to update remote refs of a repo corresponding to another remote repo called origin, it's

$ git fetch origin

This will create a new remote branch origin/test if it was created on the remote repo. You can then make it a local branch and check it out with

git checkout --track origin/test

edited Sep 03 '13 at 12:49

answered Sep 03 '13 at 12:33

CharlesB

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This lists them only but it does not update the local refs. i.e. `git branch -a` does not list: `remotes/origin/test` – Gabriel Petrovay Sep 03 '13 at 12:37
I want to UPDATE the refs in my local clone, not to list the remote branches – Gabriel Petrovay Sep 03 '13 at 12:40
@GabrielPetrovay try `git checkout --track origin/test` it must work. – suhailvs Sep 03 '13 at 12:42
I don't know the name **test**. I want to fetch all remote branch refs. – Gabriel Petrovay Sep 03 '13 at 12:46
1

I assume you know the name of the origin. Then: `git for-each-ref --shell --format="git checkout --track %(refname:short)" refs/remotes/origin` (the output is commands you can feed to sh) – torek Sep 03 '13 at 20:30
Nope, this only shows me the remotes that I know already (`HEAD` and `master`). `test` does not show up. – Gabriel Petrovay Apr 30 '14 at 11:23

suhailvs · Answer 3 · 2013-09-03T13:27:16.707

0

if you already have a git repo and just want to track a new branch from remote, you can use:

git checkout --track origin/test

if you want to clone a perticular branch:

git clone -b test <remote location>

edited Sep 03 '13 at 13:27

answered Sep 03 '13 at 12:35

suhailvs

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I don't know the names of new branches, I want to update all the refs – Gabriel Petrovay Sep 03 '13 at 12:36
@GabrielPetrovay try CharlesB answer ie `git ls-remote --heads origin` – suhailvs Sep 03 '13 at 12:37
1

why downvote any thing wrong? please mention it. i am using these for so long without any problem. That is how we trust some thing. – suhailvs Sep 03 '13 at 13:04

How to bring the git remote branch references local

3 Answers3