git-clone: Unobvious error messages when update-server-info has not been run

From: Sebastian Harl <sh@tokkee.org>
Date: Dec 17, 2007, 10:55 UTC
Message-ID: <20071217105541.GG14889@albany.tokkee.org>

Hi,

I was just trying to clone a repository using http but missed to run git-update-server-info on the server side. git-clone aborted with the following error messages:

  % git clone http://some/repo.git
  Initialized empty Git repository in /path/repo/.git/
  cat: /path/repo/.git/refs/remotes/origin/master: No such file or directory
  cd: 482: can't cd to /path/repo/.git/refs/remotes/origin
  fatal: : not a valid SHA1
  fatal: Not a valid object name HEAD

It's kind of hard to guess where the error comes from in this case (I blamed Git at first). Is there some way to improve the error message in a case like this?

TIA, Sebastian

-- 
Sebastian "tokkee" Harl +++ GnuPG-ID: 0x8501C7FC +++ http://tokkee.org/

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary
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