# What does `git push origin --delete ""` do? 2 messages from 2021-02-23 to 2021-02-23. Participants: Tilman Vogel, Junio C Hamano. Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/55197 ## Tilman Vogel, 2021-02-23 21:50 Subject: What does `git push origin --delete ""` do? Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAAbQbbCAqbJhU05WSWD6HmHpAxLqs0LbFzQmKHNaDUg2kHkZBQ%40mail.gmail.com ``` Hi! Because of an empty line in the input file, my script cat remove.txt | sed 's/origin\///' | xargs -d '\n' git push origin --delete executed (among other deletions) an implicit `git push origin --delete ""`. I wonder, what that one is supposed to do. I think, it should produce an error just as `git push origin --delete` without a further argument does but it doesn't. It seemed like instead, it tried to push all my local branches to origin!? Is this something that should get fixed? Best regards, Tilman ``` ## Junio C Hamano, 2021-02-23 22:46 Subject: Re: What does `git push origin --delete ""` do? Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/xmqqa6ru1jxg.fsf%40gitster.g In-Reply-To: ``` Tilman Vogel writes: > Because of an empty line in the input file, my script > > cat remove.txt | sed 's/origin\///' | xargs -d '\n' git push origin --delete > > executed (among other deletions) an implicit `git push origin --delete > ""`. I wonder, what that one is supposed to do. It is supposed to error out, but incorrectly and silently turns itself into a "matching push". This should fix it, I think (not even compiled tested). builtin/push.c | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git c/builtin/push.c w/builtin/push.c index 03adb58602..194967ed79 100644 --- c/builtin/push.c +++ w/builtin/push.c @@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ static void set_refspecs(const char **refs, int nr, const char *repo) else refspec_appendf(&rs, "refs/tags/%s", ref); } else if (deleterefs) { - if (strchr(ref, ':')) + if (strchr(ref, ':') || !*ref) die(_("--delete only accepts plain target ref names")); refspec_appendf(&rs, ":%s", ref); } else if (!strchr(ref, ':')) { ```