Re: Local clone checks out wrong branch based on remote HEAD

From: Jeff King <peff@peff.net>
Date: Mar 19, 2009, 04:02 UTC
Message-ID: <20090319040229.GA32435@coredump.intra.peff.net>
In-Reply-To: <49C0C769.8020401@drmicha.warpmail.net>

On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 11:05:29AM +0100, Michael J Gruber wrote:

Show 5 quoted lines

> One might even argue that in case of ambiguities, checking out a
> detached head would be most appropriate. Really, why impose creation of
> certain local branches on a user at all, unless asked for? Detached
> heads are natural in git! But I don't really expect positive consensus
> on that one...

I'm not sure that detached HEADs are all that natural. It means that:

  git clone repo-with-ambiguous-HEAD foo
  cd foo
  hack hack hack
  git commit -a -m msg

is putting your commits "nowhere" (i.e., not on any ref). They are not accessible for pushing, and when you checkout another branch, they will be lost (except to the reflog).

So it clearly requires that the user be aware of what is going on, and that they understand the subtleties of detached HEADs (something that has caused new user confusion before, I think).

-Peff