# remote branch checkout issue, why its *(no branch)

3 messages from 2008-11-28 to 2008-11-28. Participants: Sudipta GHOSH, Jakub Narebski, Björn Steinbrink.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/16518

## Sudipta GHOSH, 2008-11-28 22:15

Subject: remote branch checkout issue, why its *(no branch)
Message-ID: <9e6474ae0811281415n7b4596afq7b3ce25816d9a639@mail.gmail.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/9e6474ae0811281415n7b4596afq7b3ce25816d9a639%40mail.gmail.com

```
Hi,

In Our git repository there are few branches like

master
orgin/B1
origin/B2

After doing  #git checkout orgin/B1 I found that my current branch is
*(no branch)

#git branch
*(no branch)
master

Why its showing *(no branch) why not origin/B1

How I can checkout orgin/B1 and after that my current branch will be
orgin/B1 not the *(no branch)

Regards,
-SG

```

## Jakub Narebski, 2008-11-28 22:32

Subject: Re: remote branch checkout issue, why its *(no branch)
Message-ID: <m3k5anjxcd.fsf@localhost.localdomain>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/m3k5anjxcd.fsf%40localhost.localdomain
In-Reply-To: <9e6474ae0811281415n7b4596afq7b3ce25816d9a639@mail.gmail.com>

```
"Sudipta GHOSH" <sudipta.in@gmail.com> writes:

> In our git repository there are few branches like
> 
> master
> origin/B1
> origin/B2
> 
> After doing  #git checkout origin/B1 I found that my current branch is
> *(no branch)
> 
> #git branch
> *(no branch)
> master
> 
> Why its showing *(no branch) why not origin/B1
> 
> How I can checkout origin/B1 and after that my current branch will be
> origin/B1 not the *(no branch)

First, 'origin/B1' is so called remote-tracking branch, and its full
name is refs/remotes/origin/B1.  Those branches are updated
_automatically_ by git on fetch, to follow branch 'B1' in 'origin'
repository.  Therefore, to not lose _your_ changes git doesn't allow
checking out remote-tracking branches.  You can checkout _state_ of
such branch into anonymous noname branch, so called in git jargon
"detached HEAD".


What you can do is to create _local_ branch, closely tied to
remote-tracking branch 'origin/B1', by using:

  $ git branch -b B1 --track origin/B1

Git would set up configuration for this branch in such way that "git
pull" command given on 'B1' branch would "do the right thing"(TM)


I really recommend reading "Git User's Manual" or "The Git Community
Book" first...
-- 
Jakub Narebski
Poland
ShadeHawk on #git

```

## Björn Steinbrink, 2008-11-28 23:24

Subject: Re: remote branch checkout issue, why its *(no branch)
Message-ID: <20081128232459.GA5956@atjola.homenet>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/20081128232459.GA5956%40atjola.homenet
In-Reply-To: <m3k5anjxcd.fsf@localhost.localdomain>

```
On 2008.11.28 14:32:56 -0800, Jakub Narebski wrote:
> What you can do is to create _local_ branch, closely tied to
> remote-tracking branch 'origin/B1', by using:
> 
>   $ git branch -b B1 --track origin/B1

You mixed up checkout and branch there ;-)

It's either

git branch B1 origin/B1 # Just create a branch B1

or

git checkout -b B1 origin/B1 # Create and checkout B1

I omitted the "--track" as, by default, it is implied when you create a
new branch from a remote tracking branch.

Björn

```