[BUG?] git remote rm repo nukes local refs for mirror repo

I just noticed the hard way that "git remote rm repo" nukes all local (mirrored) refs if repo had been setup with "git remote add --mirror repo url". Some may argue that this behaviour fits the description "deletes all remote tracking branches" but I would claim it does not: mirrored branches are not remote tracking branches in the proper sense.

So:
- Is this behaviour intended?
- If yes, how else would I remove a remote mirror configuration without
destroying a local repo? git config, I know, but that can't be the way.

Michael

Technical: remote_find_tracking() in remote.c returns "branch" as the remote tracking branch of "branch" (itself) in a mirror setup. Is this the right thing to do?

Hi,

On Tue, 14 Oct 2008, Michael J Gruber wrote:

Count me into the former group. If you set up a "--mirror" repository, it defeats the purpose to mix that with _true_ local branches.

I'd color this a pilot error, Dscho

Michael> I just noticed the hard way that "git remote rm repo" nukes Michael> all local (mirrored) refs if repo had been setup with "git Michael> remote add --mirror repo url". Some may argue that this Michael> behaviour fits the description "deletes all remote tracking Michael> branches" but I would claim it does not: mirrored branches Michael> are not remote tracking branches in the proper sense.

Johannes> Count me into the former group. If you set up a "--mirror" Johannes> repository, it defeats the purpose to mix that with _true_ Johannes> local branches.

IMO it should exit with an error and force to use "--force" to perform the operation. The scenario I envision is a mirror becoming the primary repository because the original source has disappeared. You would want to remove the now-useless reference to the source, and silently nuking all branches is wrong.

  Sam

Johannes Schindelin venit, vidit, dixit 14.10.2008 11:32:

OK, I'll give some background about the motivation:

I have a "local" repo. I want to create a "backup repo" which contains the same branches (including proper remotes, svn remotes).

So, I create an empty bare repo somewhere (say store:backuprepo.git), and in the local repo I do:

git remote add --mirror backup store:backuprepo.git git push backup

I need "mirror=true" because otherwise branches are not created automatically (on push) on the remote side. I need the '+refs/*:refs/*' refspec because otherwise not all refs are mirrored. But now I can't use "git remote rm backup" to remove the configuration because that would take away all my local branches, too.

Instead, I could set up things with

git remote add backup store:backuprepo.git git config remote.backup.push '+refs/*:refs/*'

Then all branches are mirrored on the remote automatically. But interesting things happen after fetch and push... Read "recursion". So, in order to avoid any remote/backup/foo branches on the local side I would have to use

git remote add backup store:backuprepo.git git config remote.backup.push '+refs/*:refs/*' git config --unset remote.backup.fetch

in order to create a "backup remote" configuration. Maybe I'm just being dense (which is actually OK for a functional analyst); I'd be happy about any more direct solution. At least I think there should be one, a backup bare remote mirror is a common use case, and the config massaging above is not something to recommend to novice users.

Michael

P.S.: Yeah I know, git's no backup tool, there's rsync... ;)