Work-around for failing “git svn clone” (requiring full history)

Question

I want to convert a Subversion repository sub-directory (denoted by module here) into a git repository with full history. There are many svn copy opera

Answer 1

[This is the original poster speaking writing. The below used to be update to the question, but as it solved the case - albeit unsatisfactorily to my taste - I will post it as an answer lacking a better solution.]

I do not like this, but I ended up doing clone splitted into init and fetch with some editing of .git/config between (repopath=apps/module, gitreponame=module):

$ git svn init--username=mysvnusername \
            --branches=/src/branches/ \
            --trunk=/src/trunk/${repopath} \
            --tags=/src/tags/ \
            http://svnserver/svn/src ${gitreponame}
$ cd ${gitreponame}
$ sed -i.bak "s|*:|*/${repopath}:|" .git/config
$ git svn fetch --authors-file=../authors.txt --follow-parent

I could not find how to specify the branches for subdirectory migration with git svn - hence the editing of the .git/config file. The following unified diff illustrates the effect of the editing with sed:

 [svn-remote "svn"]
        url = http://svnserver/svn/src
        fetch = trunk/apps/module:refs/remotes/trunk
-       branches = branches/*:refs/remotes/*
-       tags = tags/*:refs/remotes/tags/*
+       branches = branches/*/apps/module:refs/remotes/*
+       tags = tags/*/apps/module:refs/remotes/tags/*

As the actual desired HEAD was in an another URL, I ended just adding another [svn-remote] section to .git/config:

+ [svn-remote "svn-newest"]
+       url = http://svnserver/svn/src
+       fetch = branches/x/y/apps/module:refs/remotes/trunk
+       branches = branches/*/apps/module:refs/remotes/*
+       tags = tags/*/apps/module:refs/remotes/tags/*

(in real life experiment I also added here some branches that were not picked up by the first fetch), and fetching again:

$ git svn fetch --authors-file=../authors.txt --follow-parent svn-newest

This way I ended having the full Subversion history migrated to the newly generated git repository.

Note-1 : I probably could have just told my "trunk" to be branches/x/y/apps/module as the meaning of "trunk" for git-svn seems to basically have the meaning of git HEAD (Subversion concepts of trunk, branches, tags have no deep technical basis, they are matter of socially agreed convention).

Note-2 : probably --follow-parent is not required for git svn fetch, but I have no way of knowing or experimenting now.

Note-3 : While earlier reading of svn2git which seems to be a wrapper over git-svn I failed to see the motivation, but seeing the messy presentation of tags I kind of get it now. I would try svn2git next time if I had to try doing this again.

P.S. This is rather awkward way of doing the operation. Secondary problem here (why the editing of the .git/config by external was required) seems to be that

1. Subversion branches do not have any essential technical meaning (branches and tags in Subversion are just a socially agreed labels for a versioned file system copy together with "standard" or otherwise socially agreed convention where the copies are done - trunk also has no technical meaning), and
2. git svn implementation strictly assumes the social Subversion conventions to be followed to a degree (which is not possible if you just want to migrate a subdirectory and not the whole Subversion repository).

TODO: It would be helpful to have the format of the .git/config file explained here as it relates to git svn - for example I have now (after one and half year of writing the original answer) no idea what the [svn-remote "svn-newest"] means above. Also the approach could be automated by writing a script, but this is beyond my current interest in the problem and I do not have access to the original Subversion repository or replication of the issue.