Prevent git to push to wrong remote

Question

I have a local branch "gh" that I always want to push to my account on github; I also have another local branch "lab" that I always want to push to my organization's account on github.
I have setup two remotes (gh and lab) for that.

$ git remote -v
gh  git@Ninguem.github.com:Ninguem/prj.git (fetch)
gh  git@Ninguem.github.com:Ninguem/prj.git (push)
lab git@Ninguem.github.com:lab-rasparta-org/prj.git (fetch)
lab git@Ninguem.github.com:lab-rasparta-org/prj.git (push)

I'm afraid to inadvertently mess the two when pushing. Is there a way to prevent that?
Note:
I've already fetched the two successfully, so I thing they're somehow "linked" together correctly... how do I manage what branches are "linked" to what remote branches and is there a safety mechanism?

take a look at the answers to [this question](http://stackoverflow.com/q/4950725/390819). I think they contain what you need. — Cristian Lupascu, Jul 25 '15 at 16:02

raviolicode · Accepted Answer · 2015-07-25T17:16:00.617

2

I noticed you might be confusing the terms branch and remote:

A remote Remote repositories are versions of your project that are hosted on the Internet or network somewhere.
A branch let's you create an isolated environment for making changes in a repository.

I believe you're trying to avoid confusion between pushing to the wron remote.

So suppose you have a branch my_branch in your personal GitHub account.

The safer way to ensure the remote you're working with is to explicitly say what remote are you pushing to:

If you want to push to your personal repository:
```
git push gh my_branch
```
If you want to push to your organization's repository:
```
git push lab working_branch
```

It will be his pattern:

git push <remote> <remote_branch>

You could also set up a local branch to track the remote branch on your remote gh like this:

git checkout -b my_branch -t gh/my_branch

Hope this helps.

edited Jul 25 '15 at 17:16

answered Jul 25 '15 at 17:05

raviolicode

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I just learned that -vv option to git-branch shows me what remote/branch each local branch is tracking. Also noted that **not** specifying the remote pushes to the correct one. maybe I should just stick to that rule (not a "safety mechanism" though). – Ninguém Jul 26 '15 at 09:34
I could not understand where I may have messed the terms. Not a native speaker, sorry. maybe the last sentence should be "[...]how do I manage what **local** branches are "linked" to what remote branches[...]". – Ninguém Jul 26 '15 at 09:35
`I have a local branch gh` and `I have a local branch lab` which were the same names as the remotes led me to think that. Do you have local branches with the same names as the remotes? – raviolicode Jul 26 '15 at 11:53
1

Yes, that was the case. Thanks. – Ninguém Jul 26 '15 at 12:03

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:30

1

If you really want to avoid messing things out, then you could consider working with two local repos, each cloning a specific branch:

one cloning Ninguem.github.com:Ninguem/prj.git
one cloning Ninguem.github.com:lab-rasparta-org/prj.git

That way, you are sure you are not in the wrong branch, or pushing to the wrong remote.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:30

Community

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answered Jul 25 '15 at 16:29

VonC

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@Ninguém no because the local path of the repo would clearly mention repoA or repoB. – VonC Jul 26 '15 at 09:41
Once again. You are right, but just in the unlikely event that I was paying attention to those kinds of details. That's precisely what I'm afraid to miss. ;-) – Ninguém Jul 26 '15 at 09:44
@Ninguém tryingg to manage that in the same repo is more dangerous than in separate repo, in my experience. – VonC Jul 26 '15 at 09:46
Hum... Don't you think the automatic mechanism of branch tracking is safe eneugh, as long as I don't wrongly mention the wrong remote name in the push command? – Ninguém Jul 26 '15 at 09:48

Prevent git to push to wrong remote

2 Answers2