I've mirrored (clone --mirror) a local repository with no remote refs, for a backup purpose only. I notice that the back'd up repo have a 'packed-refs' file with local refs inside.
As I try to clone it back I get the same 'packed-refs' file with remote refs such as remotes/origin/heads/... instead of local ones. Then, I've to checkout every refs in order to get the local refs.
Is there a way, maybe some clone options, able to restore the local refs directly?
If you've made a bare clone from some existing clone, and the existing clone has been destroyed (or perhaps you're re-creating it on a new server setup), you have two options:
git push --mirror from the backup/mirror clone to the new clone, orgit clone --mirror from the existing bare clone to make a new bare clone, then optionally remove the remote that this created in the new bare clone.For example, let's say that the prompt ec$ here is on the existing mirror clone on ec.example.com, and ns$ is the prompt on the new server, ns.example.com:
ns$ cd /git && mkdir restored && cd restored && git init --bare
[git messages happen here]
ec$ git push --mirror ssh://ns.example.com/git/restored
The git push --mirror sets up the new server's clone in /git/restored.
Or:
ns$ cd /git
ns$ git clone --mirror ssh://ec.example.com/~user/backup/the-mirror restored
[git messages happen here]
ns$ cd restored
ns$ git remote remove origin
The git remote remove step is optional; it cleans up the traces that show that the restored bare mirror clone came from ec.example.com/~user/backup/the-mirror. Since those traces are only visible to anyone who actually logs on to the server in the first place, this isn't really required, but you might like it for whatever reasons of your own.