无法访问旧git存储库时如何使用新的远程git存储库？

Question

I have a deployed web application. The application has been deployed from a remote git repository. Now, that repository was in someone else's control and we have no access to it. I found there were some files edited on the server; so git status is showing some uncommitted changes. What I would like to do is - get all the code from server on my machine, do git init, commit all the code and push to a new remote repository, and then update the server to pull from this new repo.

Is this a right approach? If yes, how do I handle the issues on the server related to uncommitted changes? How can I remove tracking on the server to the previous repo and point to the new repo without having to pull since the server has the latest code for now?

Answer 1

If the history of the project (which you indicated is under someone else's control) is NOT important to you, it is a simply matter of copying all the code from the remote server and creating a NEW repository on your machine.

Remember, a git repository is a decentralized, atomic unit. So the git repository presently on the server (I assume this is where you are getting the "uncommitted changes" message) can be ignored. If you have SSH access on the server - which it sounds like - you could delete the .git/' directory and then use git init` to create a NEW repository that would be able to contain all the files on the server.

From there, add a remote and PUSH as you need to.

Answer 2

Since you seem to actually have access to a copy of that repository, I suggest the following:

Let's say the repository you have access to (the deployed app if I understand well) is accessible via ssh at user@production.com:/path/to/repo_folder and you want the new remote to be accessible at user@development.com:/path/to/repo.git .

First, clone the repo in development.com :

ssh user@development.com
cd /path/to
git clone --bare user@production.com:/path/to/repo_folder repo.git // This will create the folder "repo.git" which is a valid git repository without a working directory

Your new remote is set up, you can now update the tracking remotes on the deployed repository:

ssh user@production.com
cd /path/to/repo_folder
git remote add new_remote ssh://user@development.com/path/to/repo.git
// Do the following two commands for every branch you want to be tracked on the new remote:
git fetch new_remote/master
git branch --set-upstream-to new_remote/master

Finally, if you want to commit the modifications done in the repository you have access to, you have two solutions:

1. Commit and push directly from that repository. It's the most straightforward way but may be a bad idea if you don't have the unix users or configuration you want on that server.
2. Clone the repository on your local machine (using the new remote), then reproduce the changes on your local repository. Commit and push. Log in on the server where the modifications was done first, discard them and pull from the new remote.

_{Note: I feel like my explanation is a bit vague, feel free to ask for precisions in the comment and I'll be happy to edit my answer!}