Git not detecting file rename, content is unchanged. Can't use git-mv

Question

I have a committed repo, where the workflow is as follows:

Edit on remote machine1 which does not have git.

~/project/files+folders

After editing I rsync it to machine2, where it is merged with the repository.

~/project/.git
~/project/files+folders

On machine2 I then use git do add/commit the files. File renames are performed on machine1 via mv , and rsynced down to machine2. This is the reason why I can't use git-mv, because machine1 has no git and maybe it wouldn't even matter if it has because no commits are being made on machine1.

My issue is that a git status on machine2 shows that the renamed file is first deleted and then re-added, not renamed. The content is unchanged. Even when I rename it directly on machine2, it is also not recognized. Only when I use git mv .

This would mean that I need to rename all the files via git mv on machine2 and via mv on machine1, so that rsync continues to behave as expected (haven't tested this, but I assume it would not sync the renamed files since they are identical on both machines).

What is causing git to not detect the file rename via mv ? Is there a flag which I can set so that this rename would get noticed?

One thing, I am assuming that no rename will get committed, because git status shows it as a deleted and added operation, while normally I see a renamed in git status .

A rename would look like this mv module_stuff_information.py module_core.py

Answer 1

You have to add both changes (deletion and addition) to the index in order for git to recognize it as a rename. So git add -A , for example, should help.