I ran git branch -a
* master
remotes/origin/test
remotes/origin/master
I want to delete my remote branch
I've tried
git push origin --delete remotes/origin/test
I got
error: unable to delete 'remotes/origin/test': remote ref does not exist
How is it not exist ?
I did a git branch -a, and I saw it listed.
Did I miss anything ?
The command git branch -a shows remote branches that exist in your local repository. This may sound a bit confusing but to understand it, you have to understand that there is a difference between a remote branch, and a branch that exists in a remote repository. Remote branches are local branches that map to branches of the remote repository. So the set of remote branches represent the state of the remote repository.
The usual way to update the list of remote branches is to use git fetch. This automatically gets an updated list of branches from the remote and sets up remote branches in the local repository, also fetching any commit objects you may be missing.
However, by default, git fetch does not remove remote branches that no longer have a counterpart branch on the remote. In order to do that, you explicitly need to prune the list of remote branches:
git fetch --prune
This will automatically get rid of remote branches that no longer exist on the remote. Afterwards, git branch -r will show you an updated list of branches that really exist on the remote: And those you can delete using git push.
That being said, in order to use git push --delete, you need to specify the name of the branch on the remote repository; not the name of your remote branch. So to delete the branch test (represented by your remote branch origin/test), you would use git push origin --delete test.
The meaning of remotes/origin/test is that you have a branch called test in the remote server origin. So the command would be
git push origin --delete test
There's a shortcut to delete the branch in the origin:
git push origin :<branch_name>
Which is the same as doing git push origin --delete <branch_name>
git fetch # synchronize with the server
git branch --remote # list remote branches
origin/HEAD -> origin/master
origin/develop
origin/master
origin/deleteme
git push origin --delete deleteme
I followed the solution by poke with a minor adjustment in the end. My steps follow
- git fetch --prune;
- git branch -a printing the following
master
branch
remotes/origin/HEAD -> origin/master
remotes/origin/master
remotes/origin/branch (remote branch to remove)
- git push origin --delete branch.
Here, the branch to remove is not named as remotes/origin/branch but simply branch. And the branch is removed.
Given that the remote branch is remotes/origin/test you can use two ways:
git push origin --delete test
and
git branch -D -r origin/test
For me this worked $ ▶ git branch -D -r origin/mybranch
Details
$ ▶ git branch -a | grep mybranch remotes/origin/mybranch
$ ▶ git branch -r | grep mybranch origin/mybranch
$ ▶ git branch develop * feature/pre-deployment
$ ▶ git push origin --delete mybranch error: unable to delete 'mybranch': remote ref does not exist error: failed to push some refs to 'git@10.102.100.38:config/myrepo.git'
$ ▶ git branch -D -r origin/mybranch Deleted remote branch origin/mybranch (was 62c7421).
$ ▶ git branch -a | grep mybranch
$ ▶ git branch -r | grep mybranch
A handy one-liner to delete branches other than 'master' from origin:
git branch --remotes | grep -v 'origin/master' | sed "s/origin\///" | xargs -i{foo} git push origin --delete {foo}
Be sure you understand the implications of running this before doing so!
This should help:
git fetchgit push origin --delete branchName
You just need to prune the list (clean the list) since that branch does not exist anymore.
Run the following command
git fetch --prune
to verify run
git branch -r
You should see a new list with only existing remote repos
git branch -a will list the branches in your local and not the branches in your remote.
And the error error: unable to delete 'remotes/origin/test': remote ref does not exist means you don't have a branch in that name in your remote but the branch exists in your local.
For windows
git branch --remotes| %{ $_.Trim().Split("/")[1] }| ?{ $_ -ne 'master' } | | ?{ $_ -ne 'otherBranch' } | %{ git push origin --delete $_ }
I tried all of these answers. None of them worked for me. I think I had somehow criss-crossed some repos and branches. I fixed it in Visual Studio by going to Options -> Source Control -> Git Repository Settings -> Remotes. There I saw the thing I was trying to delete. I just selected it and clicked the remove button.
