How to convert a normal Git repository to a bare one?

git version-control git-clone git-bare git-non-bare-repository
Boldewyn picture Boldewyn · Feb 4, 2010 · Viewed 224.5k times · Source

How can I convert a 'normal' Git repository to a bare one?

The main difference seems to be:

  • in the normal Git repository, you have a .git folder inside the repository containing all relevant data and all other files making up your working copy

  • in a bare Git repository, there is no working copy and the folder (let's call it repo.git) contains the actual repository data

Answer

Jörg W Mittag picture Jörg W Mittag · Feb 4, 2010

In short: replace the contents of repo with the contents of repo/.git, then tell the repository that it is now a bare repository.

To do this, execute the following commands:

cd repo
mv .git ../repo.git # renaming just for clarity
cd ..
rm -fr repo
cd repo.git
git config --bool core.bare true

Note that this is different from doing a git clone --bare to a new location (see below).

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