On 11/10/2024 22:28, Junio C Hamano wrote:

"Bence Ferdinandy" [off-list ref] writes:

quoted

On Fri Oct 11, 2024 at 22:56, Kristoffer Haugsbakk [off-list ref] wrote:

quoted

`ref: refs/remotes/origin/test`? (space after colon)

I tried a couple of variations and no:

❯ git update-ref --no-deref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD 'ref: refs/remotes/origin/test'
fatal: ref: refs/remotes/origin/test: not a valid SHA1
❯ git update-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD 'ref: refs/remotes/origin/test'
fatal: ref: refs/remotes/origin/test: not a valid SHA1
❯ git update-ref --no-deref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD 'ref:refs/remotes/origin/test'
fatal: ref:refs/remotes/origin/test: not a valid SHA1
❯ git update-ref  refs/remotes/origin/HEAD 'ref:refs/remotes/origin/test'
fatal: ref:refs/remotes/origin/test: not a valid SHA1

I guess the intended way of doing this is via git symbolic-ref anyway, but I'm
curious if this should work somehow or I'm misinterpreting the meaning of that
sentence.

I do not think update-ref is a tool to modify a symbolic-ref.

Didn't we add support for symbolic-refs to update-ref with 
'kn/update-ref-symref'? Maybe it only works with --stdin? I've Cc'd 
Karthik for clarification on how it is supposed to work.

Best Wishes

Phillip

Moreover, the mention of "ref:" is meant to be for those who are
overly curious for their own good and go peek into their .git/
directory; script writers should not have to know such an
implementation detail.

: ask what the current state is.
$ git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD
fatal: ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD is not a symbolic ref

: set it
$ git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD refs/remotes/origin/main

: inspect the result
$ git symbolic-ref refs/remotes/origin/HEAD
refs/remotes/origin/master

Thanks.