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Running 'git pull' from an unnamed branch

From
RDReece Dunn <msclrhd@googlemail.com>
Date
Apr 5, 2009, 21:33 UTC
Message-ID
<3f4fd2640904051433u199587c3wc9bf080d138944e7@mail.gmail.com>
Hi,
Here is something I have just recently tripped up on.

$ git pull You asked me to pull without telling me which branch you want to merge with, and 'branch..merge' in your configuration file does not tell me either. Please name which branch you want to merge on the command line and try again (e.g. 'git pull <repository> <refspec>'). See git-pull(1) for details on the refspec.

If you often merge with the same branch, you may want to configure the following variables in your configuration file:

    branch..remote = <nickname>
    branch..merge = <remote-ref>
    remote.<nickname>.url = <url>
    remote.<nickname>.fetch = <refspec>
See git-config(1) for details.
$ git branch
* (no branch)
  master

Running `git checkout master && git pull` fixed the above issue. The patch below improves the error message for users that are in this state.

Also, is "branch..remote" valid? Should this be "branch.remote"?
- Reece
>From c3933ba95f705dae1a41cb2ee6a282f3be0a6ab0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Reece Dunn <msclrhd@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 5 Apr 2009 22:27:10 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] Improve the message when pulling to a headless branch.
---
 git-pull.sh |    4 ++++
 1 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
diff --git a/git-pull.sh b/git-pull.sh
index 8a26763..00a72dd 100755
--- a/git-pull.sh
+++ b/git-pull.sh
@@ -97,6 +97,10 @@ error_on_no_merge_candidates () {
 	echo "try again (e.g. 'git pull <repository> <refspec>')."
 	echo "See git-pull(1) for details on the refspec."
 	echo
+	echo "You may not be on a branch. In this case, you need to move"
+	echo "onto the branch you want to pull to (usually master):"
+	echo "    git checkout <branch>"
+	echo
 	echo "If you often merge with the same branch, you may want to"
 	echo "configure the following variables in your configuration"
 	echo "file:"
-- 
1.6.0.4
Next: Sverre Rabbelier
Message 1 of 12 in “Running 'git pull' from an unnamed branch”
  1. Reece DunnApr 5, 2009
  2. Sverre RabbelierApr 5, 2009
  3. Markus HeidelbergApr 5, 2009
  4. Reece DunnApr 5, 2009
  5. Markus HeidelbergApr 5, 2009
  6. Björn SteinbrinkApr 5, 2009
  7. Reece DunnApr 5, 2009
  8. Junio C HamanoApr 6, 2009
  9. Reece DunnApr 6, 2009
  10. Björn SteinbrinkApr 6, 2009
  11. Reece DunnApr 6, 2009
  12. Markus HeidelbergApr 6, 2009

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