Re: [PATCH] doc: clarify that set-head does not change the remote's HEAD

From: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date: Sep 28, 2026, 19:01 UTC
Message-ID: <xmqq4if9mc82.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To: <20260927055040.2441925-1-matthias.goergens@gmail.com>

Matthias Goergens <matthias.goergens@gmail.com> writes:

> `git remote set-head <name> <branch>` never changes the remote
> repository's own `HEAD`, i.e. the branch that a fresh `git clone` of
> that remote checks out; every change it makes is local.

This is true, but the local nature of the command is not limited to set-head.

Adding a new 5 line paragraph specifically to the description of the `set-head` command may be an improvement, but I wonder if we should tell the readers that anything and everything done via "git remote" affects the local repository, not the remote one, as the very first thing in the manual page. That way, we do not have to say that 'remote prune' only prunes remote-tracking branches and does not run any pruning command on the remote repository, for example.

Thanks.

Show 20 quoted lines

>  Documentation/git-remote.adoc | 6 ++++++
>  1 file changed, 6 insertions(+)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/git-remote.adoc b/Documentation/git-remote.adoc
> index eaae30aa88..c9cf17e7bd 100644
> --- a/Documentation/git-remote.adoc
> +++ b/Documentation/git-remote.adoc
> @@ -107,6 +107,12 @@ branch. For example, if the default branch for `origin` is set to
>  `master`, then `origin` may be specified wherever you would normally
>  specify `origin/master`.
>  +
> +This command does not change the remote repository's own `HEAD`, i.e.
> +the branch that a fresh `git clone` of that remote will check out;
> +every change it makes is local. Git provides no way to change a
> +remote's own default branch from the client; how that is done depends
> +on how the remote is hosted.
> ++
>  With `-d` or `--delete`, the symbolic ref `refs/remotes/<name>/HEAD` is deleted.
>  +
>  With `-a` or `--auto`, the remote is queried to determine its `HEAD`, then the