How To Configure GIT To Push The Current Branch Only

Published Date Author: , Posted March 16th, 2021 at 1:51:04pm

Recent changes to git have made the push default choice a bit confusing – “matching” vs. “simple”

I picked “matching” when prompted. This means that git push by itself will try to push ALL local branches, not just the one you are working on.

Personally, I find that a bit mad, so I decided to change it.

Push the Current Branch ONLY
To set the default to the single-branch push:

Push All Branches
To set the default to the multi-branch push:

https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config

Possible Values for push.default

  • nothing – do not push anything (error out) unless a refspec is given. This is primarily meant for people who want to avoid mistakes by always being explicit.
  • current – push the current branch to update a branch with the same name on the receiving end. Works in both central and non-central workflows.
  • upstream – push the current branch back to the branch whose changes are usually integrated into the current branch (which is called @{upstream}). This mode only makes sense if you are pushing to the same repository you would normally pull from (i.e. central workflow).
  • tracking – This is a deprecated synonym for upstream.
  • simple – in centralized workflow, work like upstream with an added safety to refuse to push if the upstream branch’s name is different from the local one.
    When pushing to a remote that is different from the remote you normally pull from, work as current. This is the safest option and is suited for beginners. This mode has become the default in Git 2.0.
  • matching – push all branches having the same name on both ends. This makes the repository you are pushing to remember the set of branches that will be pushed out (e.g. if you always push maint and master there and no other branches, the repository you push to will have these two branches, and your local maint and master will be pushed there).
    To use this mode effectively, you have to make sure all the branches you would push out are ready to be pushed out before running git push, as the whole point of this mode is to allow you to push all of the branches in one go. If you usually finish work on only one branch and push out the result, while other branches are unfinished, this mode is not for you. Also this mode is not suitable for pushing into a shared central repository, as other people may add new branches there, or update the tip of existing branches outside your control.

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