git/list[1] front-page[2] threads[3] people[4] search[5] about
 

[PATCH] Explain "Not a git repository: '.git'".

From
Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
Date
Jan 12, 2007, 20:26 UTC
Message-ID
<7vy7o8rnyw.fsf_-_@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net>
In-Reply-To
<200701121501.24642.andyparkins@gmail.com>

Andy Parkins noticed that the error message some "whole tree" oriented commands emit is stated misleadingly when they refused to run from a subdirectory.

We could probably allow some of them to work from a subdirectory but that is a semantic change that could have unintended side effects, so let's start at first by rewording the error message to be easier to read without doing anything else to be safe.

Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
---
 Andy Parkins <andyparkins@gmail.com> writes:
 > Minor thing: git-rebase, git-cherry-pick and git-pull (and
 > presumably git-merge) all need to be the repository root to
 > work.  If that is intentional, a better message than "fatal:
 > Not a git repository: '.git'" would be appropriate.
 >
 > For me, I'd prefer that they worked in subdirectories.  I do
 > all almost all development in "src/" and having to change up a
 > directory just to run git commands is inconvenient.
 Thanks; let's do this for now.
 git-sh-setup.sh |    6 +++++-
 1 files changed, 5 insertions(+), 1 deletions(-)
diff --git a/git-sh-setup.sh b/git-sh-setup.sh
index 4a02b38..57f7f77 100755
--- a/git-sh-setup.sh
+++ b/git-sh-setup.sh
@@ -60,7 +60,11 @@ esac
 if [ -z "$SUBDIRECTORY_OK" ]
 then
 	: ${GIT_DIR=.git}
-	GIT_DIR=$(GIT_DIR="$GIT_DIR" git-rev-parse --git-dir) || exit
+	GIT_DIR=$(GIT_DIR="$GIT_DIR" git-rev-parse --git-dir) || {
+		exit=$?
+		echo >&2 "You need to run this command from the toplevel of the working tree."
+		exit $exit
+	}
 else
 	GIT_DIR=$(git-rev-parse --git-dir) || exit
 fi
-- 
1.5.0.rc1.g397d
Previous: Junio C HamanoNext: Junio C Hamano
Message 11 of 28 in “What's in git.git and announcing GIT v1.5.0-rc1”
  1. Junio C HamanoJan 12, 2007
  2. reflog-expire: brown paper bag fix.Junio C Hamano, Jan 12, 2007
  3. Shawn O. PearceJan 12, 2007
  4. Andy ParkinsJan 12, 2007
  5. Friendlier error message for commands that can't be run from a subdirectory.koreth@midwinter.com, Jan 12, 2007
  6. Steven GrimmJan 12, 2007
  7. Change to the repository's root directory if needed.koreth@midwinter.com, Jan 12, 2007
  8. Junio C HamanoJan 12, 2007
  9. Steven GrimmJan 12, 2007
  10. Junio C HamanoJan 12, 2007
  11. Explain "Not a git repository: '.git'".Junio C Hamano, Jan 12, 2007
  12. Junio C HamanoJan 12, 2007
  13. 1/3 Define cd_to_toplevel shell function in git-sh-setupJunio C Hamano, Jan 12, 2007
  14. 2/3 Use cd_to_toplevel in scripts that implement it by hand.Junio C Hamano, Jan 12, 2007
  15. 3/3 Allow whole-tree operations to be started from a subdirectoryJunio C Hamano, Jan 12, 2007
  16. Andy ParkinsJan 13, 2007
  17. Josef WeidendorferJan 14, 2007
  18. Shawn O. PearceJan 14, 2007
  19. Josef WeidendorferJan 14, 2007
  20. Junio C HamanoJan 14, 2007
  21. Steven GrimmJan 14, 2007
  22. Junio C HamanoJan 14, 2007
  23. Steven GrimmJan 14, 2007
  24. Steven GrimmJan 14, 2007
  25. Junio C HamanoJan 14, 2007
  26. Junio C HamanoJan 14, 2007
  27. Andreas EricssonJan 16, 2007
  28. lamikrJan 14, 2007

Read the whole thread, see it on lore, or plain text.

$ cat FOOTERMessages come from the public archive at lore.kernel.org/git, fetched every hour. The front page is chosen and written each morning by an AI editor and can be wrong; the threads themselves are the record. About and API. For agents: an MCP server at https://gitlist.dev/mcp, and any thread, story or person page as Markdown by adding .md to its URL (or sending Accept: text/markdown). Details in /llms.txt.