I am a somewhat new/basic git user and I'm having a problem that I can not seem to find an answer for. I am trying to figure out a way I can store two different branches from a github repo locally on my computer. My understanding is that when I clone a repo to my laptop from Github, it also downloads all of the branch and commit history my local machine. I want to continue to use github as a version control/backup for my project. However, I am working with colleagues who understand git less than I do so I am trying to find a way to help keep everything simple for them at the same time.
Here is a description of the situation:
We are developing an analysis in RStudio to examine information about quantitative writing in college students.
I am writing the R analysis scripts and want to maintain a safe backup with github
I am sharing the project files with my colleagues via Google drive since they do not know how to use git/ github
I have reached a point where I am going to change the fundamental file structure of the project. However, I do not want to disrupt their ability to perform analyses while I am making these changes.
My colleagues need to be able to save analysis outputs to the project folder where they are synced back to me via Google Drive and then pushed to GitHub.
I can think of two ways to handle this situation but both seem to have problems that I can't see around.
Create a branch in github, make changes to the branch and then merge the branch with the master
This won't work because I am sharing the files via Google Drive and you can only have one branch of a repo on your local machine at a time. Once clone the branch to my machine, that is what gets shared via Google Drive and any changes I make disrupts everyone else's workflow.
Create a second copy of my repo, make changes there, and then push those changes to the original repo that gets shared to colleagues via Google Drive ##
I have no idea how to do this. Everything I have read discusses how to push/pull between different github users. How can I do this as a single user?
Did I forget anything important?
Any help/suggestions greatly appreciated.
You can do it all in the same directory by adding a second remote origin, if you've already added GitHub as 'origin', then run:
git remote add gdrive https://example.com/path/to/repo.git
then you can push up your changes you've made to the two repos
to push to GitHub:
git push origin
and then to push to GitHub
git push gdrive
See this github doc page
Related
I work alongside two other developers and we seriously need a method of version control implementing within our workflow. Currently we're centralising data using a Synology NAS (which is backing itself up to Google Drive) but the bulk of our development work is done on our local machines just to speed things up.
We've been running into issues lately where we have lost track of file versions when moving between local, centralised and live copies due to our set up. We have suggested, between ourselves, using Git but none of us are experienced with it and after spending today doing some research I feel as though it is not going to actually help. It feels quite clunky and as though it slows the process down. Maybe I'm just doing something wrong?
Anyway, if anybody could suggest a better way/optimal git config they have used or had experience with I would be greatly appreciative.
Thanks in advance,
Ethan.
If you don't want to use git, then I suggest to use SVN. You can find a free SVN repository here: https://riouxsvn.com/
Hope it works!
Preparation to use git to version control your WordPress theme:
1. Remote repo. This is the place where the versions to be managed and controlled. You can create a remote repo by git init --bared. Or you can use github, bitbuckte etc to host your remote repo.
2. Local repo. make changes the develop on it. You can use below commands to work with your remote repo:
git clone /path/to/remote/repo
git add filename #after you add/modify a file
git commit -m 'message' #commit your changes in local repo
git push #push your local changes to remote repo
More details about git, you can refer git book .
I have a wordpress site that I am finally getting into git. Previously I was editing changes locally and uploading via ftp. I want to come up with a strategy to be able to do the following:
Update my git repository with any changes made on the ftp server (plugin updates etc). That I will then sync that down into my local copy
Push locally tested changes into git and then deploy via ftp (I know how to do this part)
I don't know the best way to approach 1 and I'm very new to using git (usually use svn).
Thanks
Using a conventional development workflow on Wordpress is challenging.
Because WP puts too much in the database, including site config, it makes syncing changes from one environment to the other a real pain.
We have a number of WP installs (against my better judgement) and organise our workflow like this.
You might lighten this process if you're not part of a dev team and are going alone.
Local Dev
codebase changes only. Including shortcode development and templating. This lives under a GIT workflow (branches, tags, etc). Plugin/framework updates are installed here, and tested before adding to the gitball.
Beta Live
All content is built here, with any code based changes being requested as needed. Testing is carried out here, responsive, UAT etc.
Code changes are pushed up via deployment scripts which trigger either a GIT pull, or by syncing files via ssh:rsync. heres a good resource on how to use git hooks for this.
Live
For live deployment, we use a WP database migration plugin to get content across, and the git repository to push tagged releases up to the live server. We also use the sync tool to pull down up to date copies of the database to our local dev machines.
I'm sure there are lots of other opinions on what's best, and how to implement them.
My opinion
The fact is is that WP is a bad choice for websites that require a lot of under the hood attention. It was never designed for this, and consequently is a real pain to force into a proper development cycle. If I must use a CMS, I generally use Drupal for sites that need more functionality, its a steeper learning curve, but more than worth it.
You could follow a git flow pattern. This consist of three main branches:
master
release
develop
Preform all of your development in the develop branch which you would build and test locally. Then when you are ready to test on a server merge your changes into the release branch for testing. When everything checks out you can then merge into your master branch. From here you can either manually ftp the files from the master branch like you have been or set up a deployment hook to automate deployment to your server when changes are detected.
As your project grows you can implement a couple of other branches to further maintain your build. You can base a new branch feature off of develop when you need to add a new feature then merge it back into develop following the flow back up again. As well as a hotfix branch to take care of any bugs "on the fly" straight off the master branch.
Here is a good example of the git flow pattern:
[http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/][1]
This article goes into a lot more detail about the git flow pattern and is an awesome resource!
Be sure that whenever you start a new development phase you merge from master to develop so you know you are starting with the most recent version of your project.
I have followed every advice on http://r-pkgs.had.co.nz/git.html and on the subsection http://r-pkgs.had.co.nz/git.html#git-branch and I am still getting error.
The steps I need/did (different from what Hadley's page dictates).
grab URL of GitHub repo (e.g, https://github.com/OHDSI/Achilles.git )
create versioned project in RStudio with this URL
set up my global user names for git
select a dev branch here (for example devXYZ)
At this point I got "detached at origin/devXYZ) message.
Per instructions in Hadley book - I tried to do fix this using this command
git push --set-upstream origin devXYZ
but it fails. The error is: origin does not appear to be a git repository or src refspec devXYZ does not match any
I tried fixing it with doing this command (may be wrong)
git remote add origin https://github.com/OHDSI/Achilles.git
I am using windows, latest R, latest RStudio, latest git from https://git-scm.com/download/win
EDIT: I also tried making a new branch using the recommended mechanism but it also fails. The goal is to get instructions where there is not git init and the whole process starts with an URL and new project in RStudio.
The desired future steps to work would be 5. modify and commit into the devXYZ branch.
THIS ONLY APPLIES TO NON-MASTER BRANCHES:
If you are newbie to git - simply don't try to do the git part in R at all.
Instead, use GitHub Desktop or SourceTree.
Point that tool to the desired repo, switch to desired branch
Start RStudio and do any development
Close RStudio and use that external tool to perform any git steps.
FOR MASTER BRANCHES:
integrated RStudio git implementation works great.
I think I might know what the problem is. You're trying to push directly to the main repo. I'm guessing you're not one of the main contributors for that repo so it won't allow you to create a branch there directly. I'm guessing in that book he's probably using his own repository as an example rather than using an existing one
The reason you're getting that error is because that branch doesn't exist on the remote repo so it can't get the reference to it which is inferred from this src refspec devXYZ does not match any
The preferred workflow is to work on a fork of the main repo (basically its your own personal copy of the main repo that is stored on the server). Even if you end up as a contributor at some point I think this is a good workflow to follow
Here's a good explanation on how use the fork workflow. There's other information on stackoverflow as well
Once you've made updates you'd create what's called a pull request to the original repo (commonly referred to as upstream). This basically is a request to merge your changes from the fork into the main repo. This allows the repo owner to review the changes and decide whether to accept them or make changes
Since you're just going over a tutorial I'd say use your fork as the origin wherever its used in the book for now
I want to create a master repository on our server, from which I can clone a local version onto my computer.
I am using R Studio v0.98.994.
So far, this is what I have tried doing:
Create a folder for the master repository to live in. I do this using 'new project' in R studio, and tell it to make a git repository.
I can then open up another new project, located on my C drive, and use R studio to clone, by telling it to open an existing project and setting the URL as the location of the master project.
However, then when I make changes and commit to my local repository (which works fine) I cannot push to the master repository, I get an error exactly as described in this question: git push fails: `refusing to update checked out branch: refs/heads/master`
So it appears that R Studio creates non-bare repositories?
Now I thought, well okay, I will use git bash to initialise the repository and then connect to that within R studio.
I do so, but cannot then find a way to use that repository in R Studio.
I am very new to Git, so it is entirely probable that this is one of those 'read the instructions' questions, in which case I am very sorry - and could someone possibly point me towards some guidance for this situation? I have spent the better half of a day googling around this error and haven't yet managed to pull together the pieces :( I also apologise; this doesn't feel like a very reproducible question.
It sounds like you are using Windows Git, with a setup on a local Windows machine (C: drive) and a server of some kind, mounted as the S: drive. There's a few things you should be aware of when doing this.
Shared Repositories
If you are intending for multiple people to share the same repository, you want to initiate a shared repository. See the --shared option in git-init for more details. Note that I'm not sure how having your repository on a Windows machine affects the sharing options. If you are just trying to keep your repository in two places, that makes things a lot easier.
Bare Repositories
Separate from the discussion of sharing is the discussion of bare repositories. If you don't intend to ever work with files in the server (i.e. it's just going to be a place to push changes so they are safely stored), you could initialize a bare repository. A bare repository contains the database structure of Git, but does not have the actual files in the directory.
A standard Git repository is a directory with a hidden folder in it named .git. This .git folder contains all the various data structures that Git uses to track changes. A bare repository is essentially a folder containing only the contents of .git.
The good thing about a bare repository is that no one can work in the repository itself (since there is no working directory, just the database). This means that no one could log into S: and edit the repository themselves. Instead, they would have to clone the repository, then push their changes back to the origin. The GitGuys have a good article about why this is ideal.
Note that shared repos and bare repos are not dependent or mutually exclusive. As a general practice, if you are having a "server repo" from which you pull and to which you push, you should have it be bare, regardless of whether the project is shared.
A Non-Shared Workflow
Since it's not clear if you are sharing or not sharing and you're on a Windows environment, which I don't know about from a sharing standpoint, I'm going to give you a simple example. Using git-bash, you should be able to change directories to wherever on S: you have your repositories. Then, use git init with the bare options as described by the link above to initialize a bare repository. Navigate to where you want your repository to live on C:, and then do git clone to get a working copy.
Add a README file or something else so you can do your initial commit, and then commit and do git push origin master to push your changes to the S: repository. Once all that is done, THEN initialize the RStudio Git project. RStudio should defer to your existing configuration, and things should hopefully work.
I'm very new to the world of git (done some svn in the past) and would like some advice on trying to accomplish the following.
My current workflow is that I setup the static html files using Middleman to get the base HTML structure and styles before porting over to a Wordpress template. These static files are located at C:/git/project-name/HTMLTemplates.
My wordpress setup uses Xampp so the theme files are kept in C:/Xampp/wordpress/wp-content/themes/project-theme.
What I would like to do is have a single git repo that tracks the changes of the two different locations (HTMLTemplates and project-theme)
Is this at all possible, or do I simply create two individual repos (eg: proect-static and project-wordpress)?
No, there is no mechanism in git for this. Git assumes that all files that it manages (the "working copy") live in a single directory (and subdirectories); there is no support for managing two separate directories in in repo.
So you'll have to somehow keep everything in one directory, probably as subdirectories HTMLTemplates and theme or similar.
You could use two git repos, but I'd strongly advise against this. A single repo should contain a whole "project", i.e. everything needed to build one piece of software (excluding things like external libraries). If you split your project across two repositories, you cannot usefully branch and merge (because you'd have to do it in both repos simultaneously), you cannot easily check out old versions etc..
To solve your problem, I see a few possible solutions:
Have some build / deployment script that copies everything to the right places. You probably alread have a script that invokes Middleman, and possibly tells Wordpress to refresh its cache, so you could add it there.
Set up a symbolic link for the wordpress directory. On UNIX-like systems this is easy and commonly done. On Windows, you can create "junction points", which I believe work similarly.
Configure Wordpress / Apache to read the directory directly from your git working copy. The path should be configurable.
I would prefer the first solution; this has the added advantage that it will decouple your development environment from the server configuration. This will make it easier if your setup later changes or your project needs to run in a different environment (development on a different machine, someone else also wants to work on your project, you want to deploy to a hosted server somewhere etc.).
Note: The problem is, I believe, that your are trying to use git as a deployment tool. While many people do this, git is not really suitable for this purpose. Deployment should usually be a separate step.