Git push error '[remote rejected] master -> master (branch is currently checked out)'

Question

Yesterday, I posted a question on how to clone a Git repository from one of my machines to another, How can I \'git clone\' from another machine?.

I am now

Answer 1

With Git, two regular (non-bare) repositories can't push/pull files back and forth directly. There must be an intermediary bare repository. Apparently, it's sort of like a married couple who have a kid, and the couple is getting divorced. The parents won't talk to each other, but they will communicate through the kid.

So, you have one repository, you clone this repository to a bare repository, and then you clone that to a third. The first and the third can exchange information via the second repository, the bare one. I guess this makes sense, as you wouldn't want someone able to check stuff into your repository without your consent, as that could cause merge conflicts & the like.

So, here's an example:

On PC, in ~/workspace

git init
echo "line 1" > afile.txt
git add .
git commit -m ‘initial import’
git clone --bare . ../remote-repository.git
git remote add origin ../remote-repository.git
git push --set-upstream origin master

On laptop, in ~/workspace (do not do git init, etc.)

git clone //LJZ-DELLPC/remote-repository.git/ .

// Then make various commits, and push them:

echo "line 2" > afile.txt
git add afile.txt
git commit -m 'added line 2'
git push    

Then back on PC, in ~/workspace

git pull

// Then make various commits, and push them:

git push

On laptop git pull

and so forth..

Here's an absolute concrete example all on one machine, copied straight from the command window, so that we'll know that no steps were left out, that it really did work, etc:

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~
$ cd gitdir
/home/lylez/gitdir

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir
$ ls

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir
$ mkdir repo1

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir
$ cd repo1
/home/lylez/gitdir/repo1

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ git init
Initialized empty Git repository in /home/lylez/gitdir/repo1/.git/

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ echo "line 1" > afile.txt

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ git add afile.txt

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ git commit -m 'initial import'
[master (root-commit) f407e12] initial import
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
 create mode 100644 afile.txt

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ git clone --bar . ../repo1-bare-clone
Cloning into bare repository '../repo1-bare-clone'...
done.

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ git remote add origin ../repo1-bare-clone

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ git push --set-upstream origin master
Branch master set up to track remote branch master from origin.
Everything up-to-date

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ cd ..

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir
$ ls
repo1  repo1-bare-clone

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir
$ mkdir repo1-remote

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir
$ cd repo1-remote
/home/lylez/gitdir/repo1-remote

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ git clone ../repo1-bare-clone .
Cloning into '.'...
done.

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ ls
afile.txt

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ cat afile.txt
line 1

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ echo "line 2" >> afile.txt

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ git add afile.txt

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ git commit -m 'added line 2'
[master 5ad31e0] added line 2
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ git push
Counting objects: 3, done.
Writing objects: 100% (3/3), 260 bytes | 0 bytes/s, done.
Total 3 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0)
To /home/lylez/gitdir/repo1-remote/../repo1-bare-clone
   f407e12..5ad31e0  master -> master

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ cd ../repo1

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ ls
afile.txt

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ cat afile.txt
line 1

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ git pull
remote: Counting objects: 3, done.
remote: Total 3 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0)
Unpacking objects: 100% (3/3), done.
From ../repo1-bare-clone
   f407e12..5ad31e0  master     -> origin/master
Updating f407e12..5ad31e0
Fast-forward
 afile.txt | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ cat afile.txt
line 1
line 2

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ echo "line 3" >> afile.txt

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ git add afile.txt

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ git commit -m 'added line 3'
[master 3fa569e] added line 3
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ git push
Counting objects: 3, done.
Writing objects: 100% (3/3), 265 bytes | 0 bytes/s, done.
Total 3 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0)
To ../repo1-bare-clone
   5ad31e0..3fa569e  master -> master

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1
$ cd ../repo1-remote/

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ ls
afile.txt

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ cat afile.txt
line 1
line 2

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ git pull
remote: Counting objects: 3, done.
remote: Total 3 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0)
Unpacking objects: 100% (3/3), done.
From /home/lylez/gitdir/repo1-remote/../repo1-bare-clone
   5ad31e0..3fa569e  master     -> origin/master
Updating 5ad31e0..3fa569e
Fast-forward
 afile.txt | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ cat afile.txt
line 1
line 2
line 3

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote
$ git --version
git version 2.1.1

lylez@LJZ-DELLPC ~/gitdir/repo1-remote