Losing branches (whee, data loss)

> [jgarzik@pretzel libata-dev]$ git-branch -m upstream-fixes tmp
> fatal: A branch named 'tmp' already exists.
>
> [jgarzik@pretzel libata-dev]$ git branch -D tmp
> Deleted branch tmp.

> On 5/16/07, Jeff Garzik <jeff@garzik.org> wrote:
>> [jgarzik@pretzel libata-dev]$ git branch -m upstream-fixes tmp
>> error: Could not open config file!
>> fatal: Branch rename failed
> 
> This should have been fixed in v1.5.1.1, what version do you run?

>> [jgarzik@pretzel libata-dev]$ git-branch -m upstream-fixes tmp
>> fatal: A branch named 'tmp' already exists.
>>
>> [jgarzik@pretzel libata-dev]$ git branch -D tmp
>> Deleted branch tmp.
> 
> Could you try to run "git log -g" and see if it finds your lost branch?

> Lars Hjemli wrote:
> >On 5/16/07, Jeff Garzik <jeff@garzik.org> wrote:
> >>[jgarzik@pretzel libata-dev]$ git branch -m upstream-fixes tmp
> >>error: Could not open config file!
> >>fatal: Branch rename failed
> >
> >This should have been fixed in v1.5.1.1, what version do you run?
> 
> [jgarzik@core ~]$ rpm -q git-core
> git-core-1.5.0.6-1.fc6
> 
> 
> >>[jgarzik@pretzel libata-dev]$ git-branch -m upstream-fixes tmp
> >>fatal: A branch named 'tmp' already exists.
> >>
> >>[jgarzik@pretzel libata-dev]$ git branch -D tmp
> >>Deleted branch tmp.
> >
> >Could you try to run "git log -g" and see if it finds your lost branch?
> 
> Doesn't seem to..

> Jan Hudec wrote:
>> And does the .git/logs/refs/heads/upstream-fixes still exist?
>
> Nope.
>
>
>> If it does not, as last resort you'd have to git fsck --unreachable
>> (this gives you all things that are not reachable from any ref), filter
>> out only commit objects and than remember which one should have been on
>> that branch after reading it's log, date and changes.
>
> Yeah, that will probably recover it.  I wound up digging the emails
> out of the trash bin, and applying them again.

> Jan Hudec wrote:
> > And does the .git/logs/refs/heads/upstream-fixes still exist?
>
> Nope.
>
>
> > If it does not, as last resort you'd have to git fsck --unreachable
> > (this gives you all things that are not reachable from any ref), filter
> > out only commit objects and than remember which one should have been on
> > that branch after reading it's log, date and changes.
>
> Yeah, that will probably recover it.  I wound up digging the emails out
> of the trash bin, and applying them again.
>

> On 5/16/07, Jeff Garzik <jeff@garzik.org> wrote:
>> Jan Hudec wrote:
>> > And does the .git/logs/refs/heads/upstream-fixes still exist?
>>
>> Nope.
>>
>>
>> > If it does not, as last resort you'd have to git fsck --unreachable
>> > (this gives you all things that are not reachable from any ref), filter
>> > out only commit objects and than remember which one should have been on
>> > that branch after reading it's log, date and changes.
>>
>> Yeah, that will probably recover it.  I wound up digging the emails out
>> of the trash bin, and applying them again.
>>
>
> That's bad.
>
> Just out of curiosity: do you get any output from 'git log RENAMED-REF'?

> Grumble!
>
> When all this started, the branch 'upstream-fixes' exists, and branch
> 'tmp' does not exist.  This is my local clone of
> git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/jgarzik/libata-dev.git
>
> [jgarzik@pretzel libata-dev]$ git branch -m upstream-fixes tmp
> error: Could not open config file!
> fatal: Branch rename failed

> Jeff Garzik <jeff@garzik.org> writes:
> 
>> Grumble!
>>
>> When all this started, the branch 'upstream-fixes' exists, and branch
>> 'tmp' does not exist.  This is my local clone of
>> git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/jgarzik/libata-dev.git
>>
>> [jgarzik@pretzel libata-dev]$ git branch -m upstream-fixes tmp
>> error: Could not open config file!
>> fatal: Branch rename failed
> 
> Sorry to hear that.
> 
> We used to have a problem with "branch -m" when you did not have
> a .git/config file (or it was unwritable).  I think 1.5.0.X
> series and 1.5.1 release had this bug; 1.5.1.1 and later should
> have the appropriate fix.