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[PATCH v3] branch: allow deleting dangling branches with --force

From
René Scharfe <l.s.r@web.de>
Date
Aug 27, 2021, 18:35 UTC
Message-ID
<c192f438-2eaf-c098-9fe4-c03a9d36cbd0@web.de>
In-Reply-To
<325d64e9-8a31-6ba0-73f2-5e9d67b8682f@web.de>

git branch only allows deleting branches that point to valid commits. Skip that check if --force is given, as the caller is indicating with it that they know what they are doing and accept the consequences. This allows deleting dangling branches, which previously had to be reset to a valid start-point using --force first.

Reported-by: Ulrich Windl <Ulrich.Windl@rz.uni-regensburg.de>
Helped-by: Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <avarab@gmail.com>
Helped-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Signed-off-by: René Scharfe <l.s.r@web.de>
---
Changes since v2:
- move test_when_finished down to avoid need for test -f
- check return code of git for-each-ref  in test to distinguish
  between a deleted and a still existing, but dangling branch
 Documentation/git-branch.txt |  3 ++-
 builtin/branch.c             |  2 +-
 t/t3200-branch.sh            | 13 +++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/git-branch.txt b/Documentation/git-branch.txt
index 94dc9a54f2..5449767121 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-branch.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-branch.txt
@@ -118,7 +118,8 @@ OPTIONS
 	Reset <branchname> to <startpoint>, even if <branchname> exists
 	already. Without `-f`, 'git branch' refuses to change an existing branch.
 	In combination with `-d` (or `--delete`), allow deleting the
-	branch irrespective of its merged status. In combination with
+	branch irrespective of its merged status, or whether it even
+	points to a valid commit. In combination with
 	`-m` (or `--move`), allow renaming the branch even if the new
 	branch name already exists, the same applies for `-c` (or `--copy`).

diff --git a/builtin/branch.c b/builtin/branch.c
index b23b1d1752..03c7b7253a 100644
--- a/builtin/branch.c
+++ b/builtin/branch.c
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ static int check_branch_commit(const char *branchname, const char *refname,
 			       int kinds, int force)
 {
 	struct commit *rev = lookup_commit_reference(the_repository, oid);
-	if (!rev) {
+	if (!force && !rev) {
 		error(_("Couldn't look up commit object for '%s'"), refname);
 		return -1;
 	}
diff --git a/t/t3200-branch.sh b/t/t3200-branch.sh
index cc4b10236e..e575ffb4ff 100755
--- a/t/t3200-branch.sh
+++ b/t/t3200-branch.sh
@@ -1272,6 +1272,19 @@ test_expect_success 'attempt to delete a branch merged to its base' '
 	test_must_fail git branch -d my10
 '

+test_expect_success 'branch --delete --force removes dangling branch' '
+	git checkout main &&
+	test_commit unstable &&
+	hash=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
+	objpath=$(echo $hash | sed -e "s|^..|.git/objects/&/|") &&
+	git branch --no-track dangling &&
+	mv $objpath $objpath.x &&
+	test_when_finished "mv $objpath.x $objpath" &&
+	git branch --delete --force dangling &&
+	git for-each-ref refs/heads/dangling >actual &&
+	test_must_be_empty actual
+'
+
 test_expect_success 'use --edit-description' '
 	write_script editor <<-\EOF &&
 		echo "New contents" >"$1"
--
2.33.0
Previous: Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason
Message 17 of 17 in “branch: allow deleting dangling branches with --force”
  1. branch: allow deleting dangling branches with --forceRené Scharfe, Aug 25, 2021
  2. Junio C HamanoAug 25, 2021
  3. Ævar Arnfjörð BjarmasonAug 25, 2021
  4. René ScharfeAug 26, 2021
  5. Han-Wen NienhuysAug 26, 2021
  6. Junio C HamanoAug 26, 2021
  7. Junio C HamanoAug 26, 2021
  8. Antw: [EXT] Re: [PATCH RESEND] branch: allow deleting dangling branches with ‑‑forceUlrich Windl, Aug 27, 2021
  9. Ævar Arnfjörð BjarmasonAug 27, 2021
  10. René ScharfeAug 26, 2021
  11. Ævar Arnfjörð BjarmasonAug 25, 2021
  12. René ScharfeAug 26, 2021
  13. branch: allow deleting dangling branches with --forceRené Scharfe, Aug 26, 2021
  14. Junio C HamanoAug 26, 2021
  15. René ScharfeAug 26, 2021
  16. Ævar Arnfjörð BjarmasonAug 26, 2021
  17. branch: allow deleting dangling branches with --forceRené Scharfe, Aug 27, 2021

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