Merge remote origin/master into a new local repository

git-merge-origin\master.md

This little dance is needed to merge in the remote origin/master to a fresh local (one created without cloning the remote, such as by a tool like pass). I don't know if there is a better way?

You need to do this when

• you have another application which can use git for storing data, and you need to fill it with history from a common remote, but the application doesn't support git clone, only git init type operations
• you have a local repository with local changes that you want to keep, but still merge in the origin (although you could go the other way, I think?)

Use commands like these to merge in a remote to your local master, as the new origin:

git remote add origin git@github.com:user/repo
git fetch origin
git checkout origin/master
git checkout -b temp
git checkout -B master temp
git branch -d temp
git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/master master

An explanation of what these commands do:

• Add the remote, call it origin
• fetch the data
• switch to the origin/master branch just fetched
• create a new branch temp from the current branch (origin/master) - merges all the data to temp
• reset master from the temp branch - merges all the data to the local master branch
• delete the temp branch
• set upstream tracking for master as origin/master