As the "checkout" documentation describes: If <branch> is not found but there does exist a tracking branch in exactly one remote (call it <remote>) with a matching name, treat as equivalent to [...] <remote>/<branch.
This is a really useful feature. The problem is that when you add another remote (e.g. a fork), git won't find a unique branch name anymore, and will instead print this unhelpful message: $ git checkout master error: pathspec 'master' did not match any file(s) known to git Now it will, on my git.git checkout, print: $ ./git --exec-path=$PWD checkout master error: pathspec 'master' did not match any file(s) known to git. hint: 'master' matched more than one remote tracking branch. hint: We found 26 remotes with a reference that matched. So we fell back hint: on trying to resolve the argument as a path, but failed there too! hint: hint: If you meant to check out a remote tracking branch on, e.g. 'origin', hint: you can do so by fully qualifying the name with the --track option: hint: hint: git checkout --track origin/<name> Signed-off-by: Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <ava...@gmail.com> --- Documentation/config.txt | 7 +++++++ advice.c | 2 ++ advice.h | 1 + builtin/checkout.c | 13 +++++++++++++ t/t2024-checkout-dwim.sh | 14 ++++++++++++++ 5 files changed, 37 insertions(+) diff --git a/Documentation/config.txt b/Documentation/config.txt index ab641bf5a9..dfc0413a84 100644 --- a/Documentation/config.txt +++ b/Documentation/config.txt @@ -344,6 +344,13 @@ advice.*:: Advice shown when you used linkgit:git-checkout[1] to move to the detach HEAD state, to instruct how to create a local branch after the fact. + checkoutAmbiguousRemoteBranchName:: + Advice shown when the argument to + linkgit:git-checkout[1] ambiguously resolves to a + remote tracking branch on more than one remote in + situations where an unambiguous argument would have + otherwise caused a remote-tracking branch to be + checked out. amWorkDir:: Advice that shows the location of the patch file when linkgit:git-am[1] fails to apply it. diff --git a/advice.c b/advice.c index 370a56d054..75e7dede90 100644 --- a/advice.c +++ b/advice.c @@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ int advice_add_embedded_repo = 1; int advice_ignored_hook = 1; int advice_waiting_for_editor = 1; int advice_graft_file_deprecated = 1; +int advice_checkout_ambiguous_remote_branch_name = 1; static int advice_use_color = -1; static char advice_colors[][COLOR_MAXLEN] = { @@ -72,6 +73,7 @@ static struct { { "ignoredhook", &advice_ignored_hook }, { "waitingforeditor", &advice_waiting_for_editor }, { "graftfiledeprecated", &advice_graft_file_deprecated }, + { "checkoutambiguousremotebranchname", &advice_checkout_ambiguous_remote_branch_name }, /* make this an alias for backward compatibility */ { "pushnonfastforward", &advice_push_update_rejected } diff --git a/advice.h b/advice.h index 9f5064e82a..4d11d51d43 100644 --- a/advice.h +++ b/advice.h @@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ extern int advice_add_embedded_repo; extern int advice_ignored_hook; extern int advice_waiting_for_editor; extern int advice_graft_file_deprecated; +extern int advice_checkout_ambiguous_remote_branch_name; int git_default_advice_config(const char *var, const char *value); __attribute__((format (printf, 1, 2))) diff --git a/builtin/checkout.c b/builtin/checkout.c index 8c93c55cbc..baa027455a 100644 --- a/builtin/checkout.c +++ b/builtin/checkout.c @@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ #include "resolve-undo.h" #include "submodule-config.h" #include "submodule.h" +#include "advice.h" static const char * const checkout_usage[] = { N_("git checkout [<options>] <branch>"), @@ -1267,6 +1268,18 @@ int cmd_checkout(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix) UNLEAK(opts); if (opts.patch_mode || opts.pathspec.nr) { int ret = checkout_paths(&opts, new_branch_info.name); + if (ret && dwim_remotes_matched > 1 && + advice_checkout_ambiguous_remote_branch_name) + advise(_("'%s' matched more than one remote tracking branch.\n" + "We found %d remotes with a reference that matched. So we fell back\n" + "on trying to resolve the argument as a path, but failed there too!\n" + "\n" + "If you meant to check out a remote tracking branch on, e.g. 'origin',\n" + "you can do so by fully qualifying the name with the --track option:\n" + "\n" + " git checkout --track origin/<name>"), + argv[0], + dwim_remotes_matched); return ret; } else { return checkout_branch(&opts, &new_branch_info); diff --git a/t/t2024-checkout-dwim.sh b/t/t2024-checkout-dwim.sh index ed32828105..fef263a858 100755 --- a/t/t2024-checkout-dwim.sh +++ b/t/t2024-checkout-dwim.sh @@ -76,6 +76,20 @@ test_expect_success 'checkout of branch from multiple remotes fails #1' ' test_branch master ' +test_expect_success 'checkout of branch from multiple remotes fails with advice' ' + git checkout -B master && + test_might_fail git branch -D foo && + test_must_fail git checkout foo 2>stderr && + test_branch master && + status_uno_is_clean && + test_i18ngrep "^hint: " stderr && + test_must_fail git -c advice.checkoutAmbiguousRemoteBranchName=false \ + checkout foo 2>stderr && + test_branch master && + status_uno_is_clean && + test_i18ngrep ! "^hint: " stderr +' + test_expect_success 'checkout of branch from a single remote succeeds #1' ' git checkout -B master && test_might_fail git branch -D bar && -- 2.17.0.290.gded63e768a