Re: executing git from a non git directory

From: Shawn O. Pearce <spearce@spearce.org>
Date: Jul 22, 2007, 07:07 UTC
Message-ID: <20070722070734.GU32566@spearce.org>
In-Reply-To: <6b6419750707212355q48a934e4n3be0d6111694ad01@mail.gmail.com>

Patrick Aljord <patcito@gmail.com> wrote:

Show 8 quoted lines

> I would like to check it from another direcory, I tried the following 
> command:
> 
> $ git --git-dir=/path/to/my_git_dir status
> 
> and
> 
> $ GIT_DIR='/path/to/my_git_dir' && git status

These are actually the same two commands. The --git-dir option just means "set GIT_DIR before calling the real command".

However, there are two problems here...

> but in both cases I get this error:
> fatal: Not a git repository: '/path/to/my_git_dir'

Right. That's problem number 1. /path/to/my_git_dir is probably not actually your Git repository. The git repository is actually in ".git", so you really need to use:

  $ git --git-dir=/path/to/my_git_dir/.git status

However, problem number 2 is that status requires a working directory. Setting GIT_DIR explicitly like this tells git that you don't have a working directory present. So status won't work.

> yet when I do "$ cd /path/to/my_git_dir && git status" I do get the results.

That's what you have to do if you want to run git-status. Or use a subshell as that won't change your current working directory:

  $ (cd /path/to/my_git_dir && git status)

-- 
Shawn.