# How to checkout a branch (and not a tag)

3 messages from 2021-04-11 to 2021-04-11. Participants: Jeffrey Walton, Junio C Hamano.
Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/55477

## Jeffrey Walton, 2021-04-11 23:04

Subject: How to checkout a branch (and not a tag)
Message-ID: <CAH8yC8nT-68H9Vy=zxqsKeqpBqt-OJYCpVh53cm1KoeSbSVC-Q@mail.gmail.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAH8yC8nT-68H9Vy%3DzxqsKeqpBqt-OJYCpVh53cm1KoeSbSVC-Q%40mail.gmail.com

```
I'm trying to checkout a branch called REL1_35 from
https://github.com/wikimedia/mediawiki-skins-Cosmos. The repo also has
a tag called REL1_35.

When I perform the following I apparently get the tag (with old files)
and not the branch (with updated files):

    wiki_rel=REL1_53
    ...
    git fetch origin && git reset --hard "origin/${wiki_rel}" && \
        git checkout -f "${wiki_rel}" && git pull && git clean -xdf

I found https://groups.google.com/g/git-users/c/FfzGmqj6sNQ, but I am
not following it. My .git/config looks like it is using the proper
reference:

# cat skins/Cosmos/.git/config
[core]
        repositoryformatversion = 0
        filemode = true
        bare = false
        logallrefupdates = true
[remote "origin"]
        url = https://github.com/Universal-Omega/MediaWiki-Cosmos-skin.git
        fetch = +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*
[branch "REL1_35"]
        remote = origin
        merge = refs/heads/REL1_35

How do I checkout the branch (and not a tag)?

Thanks in advance.

```

## Junio C Hamano, 2021-04-11 23:22

Subject: Re: How to checkout a branch (and not a tag)
Message-ID: <xmqqk0p8flui.fsf@gitster.g>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/xmqqk0p8flui.fsf%40gitster.g
In-Reply-To: <CAH8yC8nT-68H9Vy=zxqsKeqpBqt-OJYCpVh53cm1KoeSbSVC-Q@mail.gmail.com>

```
Jeffrey Walton <noloader@gmail.com> writes:

> I'm trying to checkout a branch called REL1_35 from
> https://github.com/wikimedia/mediawiki-skins-Cosmos. The repo also has
> a tag called REL1_35.
>
> When I perform the following I apparently get the tag (with old files)
> and not the branch (with updated files):
>
>     wiki_rel=REL1_53

Hopefully this typo is not part of what contributed to your problem.
Assuming that you actually used REL1_35 here...

>     ...
>     git fetch origin && git reset --hard "origin/${wiki_rel}" && \

...this should get their branches in refs/remotes/origin/, and would
reset whatever local branch you are on to origin/REL1_35.  So at this
point, HEAD is the same as their REL1_35 branch.

>         git checkout -f "${wiki_rel}"

And this causes the tag/REL1_35, which was obtained from them, to be
checked out to a detached HEAD.

What are you trying to do here?  Do you want your own local REL1_35
branch, that starts at the same commit as their REL1_35 branch?  If
so, then instead of that "checkout", you would probably do

	git checkout -b REL1_35

Or whole thing up to this point would be

	git fetch origin &&
	git checkout -t -b REL1_35 origin/REL1_35

and then after this, your "git pull" while on your REL1_35 brnch
would integrate with their REL1_35 branch [*]


[Footnote]

* Unless you have other funny configuration variables in the
  repository possibly from earlier random hacking, that is.
  Depending on the state of the repository before you started the
  "git fetch origin" step, commands like "git pull" and "git push"
  would behave differently.

```

## Jeffrey Walton, 2021-04-11 23:29

Subject: Re: How to checkout a branch (and not a tag)
Message-ID: <CAH8yC8kZjFZo-si45oYTzUyH+J6YOLD62Bdmomzr0NDkDzLhRQ@mail.gmail.com>
URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/CAH8yC8kZjFZo-si45oYTzUyH%2BJ6YOLD62Bdmomzr0NDkDzLhRQ%40mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To: <xmqqk0p8flui.fsf@gitster.g>

```
On Sun, Apr 11, 2021 at 7:22 PM Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
>
> Jeffrey Walton <noloader@gmail.com> writes:
>
> > I'm trying to checkout a branch called REL1_35 from
> > https://github.com/wikimedia/mediawiki-skins-Cosmos. The repo also has
> > a tag called REL1_35.
> >
> > When I perform the following I apparently get the tag (with old files)
> > and not the branch (with updated files):
> >
> >     wiki_rel=REL1_53
>
> Hopefully this typo is not part of what contributed to your problem.
> Assuming that you actually used REL1_35 here...

Yes, typo.

> >     ...
> >     git fetch origin && git reset --hard "origin/${wiki_rel}" && \
>
> ...this should get their branches in refs/remotes/origin/, and would
> reset whatever local branch you are on to origin/REL1_35.  So at this
> point, HEAD is the same as their REL1_35 branch.
>
> >         git checkout -f "${wiki_rel}"
>
> And this causes the tag/REL1_35, which was obtained from them, to be
> checked out to a detached HEAD.
>
> What are you trying to do here?  Do you want your own local REL1_35
> branch, that starts at the same commit as their REL1_35 branch?

I want an exact copy of the remote branch.

After I get that copy, I usually delete unneeded fodder, like test
gear and documentation.

Jeff

```