# Question about bare repositories 4 messages from 2007-03-16 to 2007-03-16. Participants: Andy Parkins, Junio C Hamano, Johannes Schindelin. Thread: https://gitlist.dev/t/7269 ## Andy Parkins, 2007-03-16 09:47 Subject: Question about bare repositories Message-ID: <200703160947.03833.andyparkins@gmail.com> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/200703160947.03833.andyparkins%40gmail.com ``` Hello, I'm having an understanding problem, rather than a git problem. It came about because I was looking at a repository using gitweb. The repository was bare, and happened to have HEAD pointing at an old branch that hadn't been updated for a long time. I was confused because I wasn't seeing new commits. Once I set HEAD to master in the bare repository, gitweb showed the new commits. All that led me to this question, which isn't a criticism, but has exposed a hole in my understanding of git. Why does a bare repository have/need a HEAD? Andy -- Dr Andy Parkins, M Eng (hons), MIET andyparkins@gmail.com ``` ## Junio C Hamano, 2007-03-16 10:05 Subject: Re: Question about bare repositories Message-ID: <7vhcslv701.fsf@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/7vhcslv701.fsf%40assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net In-Reply-To: <200703160947.03833.andyparkins@gmail.com> ``` Andy Parkins writes: > Why does a bare repository have/need a HEAD? To mark which branch the repository owner considers the primary branch of the repository. I think "git pull $URL" (i.e. without using shorthand arranged in the config nor $GIT_DIR/remotes/) defaults to fetching and merging HEAD from there, for example (I say "I think" because it's been a while I did so myself, and we might have broken it during the 1.5.0 process, which had a lot of work in that area). ``` ## Andy Parkins, 2007-03-16 11:52 Subject: Re: Question about bare repositories Message-ID: <200703161152.37485.andyparkins@gmail.com> URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/200703161152.37485.andyparkins%40gmail.com In-Reply-To: <7vhcslv701.fsf@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net> ``` On Friday 2007 March 16 10:05, Junio C Hamano wrote: > Andy Parkins writes: > > Why does a bare repository have/need a HEAD? > > To mark which branch the repository owner considers the primary > branch of the repository. I think "git pull $URL" (i.e. without Interesting. So it's got a much reduced importance and sounds like it is mainly as guidance for cloners, etc. > using shorthand arranged in the config nor $GIT_DIR/remotes/) > defaults to fetching and merging HEAD from there, for example (I > say "I think" because it's been a while I did so myself, and we > might have broken it during the 1.5.0 process, which had a lot > of work in that area). Me too; I don't think I've ever used it, which is where my confusion came from. Thanks for the help. Andy -- Dr Andy Parkins, M Eng (hons), MIET andyparkins@gmail.com ``` ## Johannes Schindelin, 2007-03-16 12:24 Subject: Re: Question about bare repositories Message-ID: URL: https://gitlist.dev/e/Pine.LNX.4.63.0703161323530.22628%40wbgn013.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de In-Reply-To: <200703161152.37485.andyparkins@gmail.com> ``` Hi, On Fri, 16 Mar 2007, Andy Parkins wrote: > On Friday 2007 March 16 10:05, Junio C Hamano wrote: > > Andy Parkins writes: > > > Why does a bare repository have/need a HEAD? > > > > To mark which branch the repository owner considers the primary > > branch of the repository. I think "git pull $URL" (i.e. without > > Interesting. So it's got a much reduced importance and sounds like it > is mainly as guidance for cloners, etc. It's as much a guidance for cloners, as it is for Git in non-bare repos to know which branch gets updated upon commit. HEAD was never more than a pointer to one (the "current") branch. Ciao, Dscho ```