Update your GIT Repositories

Update your GIT Repositories

The git remote update command is a useful tool for keeping your local repository up-to-date with the latest changes from remote repositories. It fetches the latest branches and updates the remote-tracking branches to match the upstream branches.

The git remote update --prune command takes this a step further by also pruning the remote-tracking branches that no longer exist on the remote repository. This can help to clean up your local repository and reduce the amount of unnecessary data that it is storing.

GIT Remote Update and Prune

When to use git remote update --prune

In general, you should use git remote update --prune whenever you want to make sure that your local repository is up-to-date with the latest changes from the remote repository. However, there are a few specific cases where it is particularly useful:

  • After cloning a repository: When you clone a repository, the remote-tracking branches will be in a state of being out of sync with the upstream branches. Running git remote update --prune will fix this.
  • After rebasing: Rebasing can cause your local repository to become out of sync with the remote repository. Running git remote update --prune will fix this.
  • After pushing changes: When you push changes to the remote repository, it is a good idea to run git remote update --prune to make sure that your local repository is up-to-date with the latest changes.

Differences

The difference between git remote update and git fetch: –

The git remote update command is similar to the git fetch command, but there is a subtle difference between the two. The git fetch command only fetches the latest branches and updates the remote-tracking branches, but it does not prune the remote-tracking branches. The git remote update --prune command does both of these things.

Here is an example of how to use the git remote update --prune command:

git remote update --prune origin

This command will update the remote-tracking branches for the remote origin repository and prune any remote-tracking branches that no longer exist on the remote repository.

Additional Options

The git remote update command has a few additional options that you can use.

For example, you can use the --dry-run option to see what the command would do without actually making any changes.

You can also use the --verbose option to get more detailed information about what the command is doing.

Stephen

Hi, my name is Stephen Finchett. I have been a software engineer for over 30 years and worked on complex, business critical, multi-user systems for all of my career. For the last 15 years, I have been concentrating on web based solutions using the Microsoft Stack including ASP.Net, C#, TypeScript, SQL Server and running everything at scale within Kubernetes.