Workflow for using git subtree on Windows

gistfile1.txt

To include a library as a subtree, follow these steps:

	1. Add the project as a remote
	   git remote add <remote-name> <source-repo>

	2. Fetch the remote
	   git fetch <remote-name>

	3. Add the project
	   git subtree add --prefix "path/to/project" <remote-name> <remote-branch-name> --squash

Notes about this process:

	* Path separators must be forward-slash as Windows git breaks otherwise. To allow this, quote paths.
	* Using SourceTree to achieve this currently doesn't work because it will pass back-slashes.
	* Afterwards, SourceTree won't list the subtree until you try to "Add/Link" it from its UI.
	* Squashing the commits (--squash) reduces all source repo commits to one simple commit (doesn't spam your main list).

To push changes made in the subtree upstream to the source repo, use:

	git subtree push --prefix "path/to/project" <remote-name> <remote-branch-name>

If the upstream repo currently has <remote-branch-name> checked out, THIS WILL FAIL. So instead, make sure the source
repo has an extra branch to receive any pushes.

Suggested pattern:

	* Have "develop" and "master" branches.
	* In the upstream/source repo, always work on "develop".
	* In downstream/dependent repo, always push to "master".

Assuming you have "master" in the upstream/source repo checked out, it's a simple case of merging back to "develop" to
have everything synced up again:

	git checkout develop
	git merge master

Pulling remote changes is a little simpler:

	git subtree pull --prefix "path/to/project" <remote-name> <remote-branch-name> --squash

Again, the commits are squashed.

Thanks for the write-up, although I've been using git for a while I'm only just moving over to using subtrees from a manually managed set of repos under a common root.

For branches, I would use "projectname" rather than "master" for development under a subtree structure when using a repo from a project which gets used elsewhere. This is especially useful if your subtree repo is a fork, as it's otherwise easy to make mistakes when pulling from the original repo.

RE: SourceTree

I've discovered that SourceTree does work if you type the folder in manually and use relative paths rather than the full path, and use forward rather than backslashes.

Yeah, if you baby-feed the SourceTree dialogue it all works. But by that point its use becomes pretty pointless :) I find it easier to work from the CLI and then select Add/Link once the subtree is setup. At that point, at least, forward/back & absolute/relative seem to all work.