How to backup a local Git repository?

Question

I am using git on a relatively small project and I find that zipping the .git directory\'s contents might be a fine way to back up the project. But this is kind of weird bec

Answer 1

came to this question via google.

Here is what i did in the simplest way.

git checkout branch_to_clone

then create a new git branch from this branch

git checkout -b new_cloned_branch
Switched to branch 'new_cloned_branch'

come back to original branch and continue:

git checkout branch_to_clone

Assuming you screwed up and need to restore something from backup branch :

git checkout new_cloned_branch -- <filepath>  #notice the space before and after "--"

Best part if anything is screwed up, you can just delete the source branch and move back to backup branch!!

Answer 2

Found the simple official way after wading through the walls of text above that would make you think there is none.

Create a complete bundle with:

$ git bundle create <filename> --all

Restore it with:

$ git clone <filename> <folder>

This operation is atomic AFAIK. Check official docs for the gritty details.

Regarding "zip": git bundles are compressed and surprisingly small compared to the .git folder size.