Is there a way to get 'git fetch --no-tags' semantics with 'git clone'?

As far as I can tell the only way to clone a given upstream repo, which has an unknown main branch name without any tags is:

    git clone --single-branch <url> <repo> &&
    cd <repo> &&
    git tag -d $(git tag -l) &&
    git config remote.origin.tagOpt --no-tags

Is there really nothing like:

    git clone --single-branch --no-tags <url> <repo>

?

I suppose this can be done with the usual 'git init`, set the config & then fetch dance, but in that case what part of 'git remote' or friends exposes finding the remote "main" ref as --single-branch does?

Add a --no-tags option to "git clone" to clone without tags. Currently there's no easy way to clone a repository and end up with just a "master" branch via --single-branch, or track all branches and no tags. Now --no-tags can be added to "git clone" with or without --single-branch to clone a repository without tags.

Before this the only way of doing this was either by manually tweaking the config in a fresh repository:

git init git &&
cat >git/.git/config <<EOF &&
[remote "origin"]
url = [email protected]:git/git.git
tagOpt = --no-tags
fetch = +refs/heads/master:refs/remotes/origin/master
[branch "master"]
remote = origin
merge = refs/heads/master
EOF
cd git &&
git pull

Which requires hardcoding the "master" name, which may not be the same branch, or alternatively by setting tagOpt=--no-tags right after cloning & deleting any existing tags:

    git clone --single-branch [email protected]:git/git.git &&
    cd git &&
    git config remote.origin.tagOpt --no-tags &&
    git tag -l | xargs git tag -d

Which of course was also subtly buggy if --branch was pointed at a tag, leaving the user in a detached head:

    git clone --single-branch --branch v2.12.0 [email protected]:git/git.git &&
    cd git &&
    git config remote.origin.tagOpt --no-tags &&
    git tag -l | xargs git tag -d

Now all this complexity becomes the much simpler:

    git clone --single-branch --no-tags [email protected]:git/git.git

Or in the case of cloning a single tag "branch":

    git clone --single-branch --branch v2.12.0 --no-tags [email protected]:git/git.git

Signed-off-by Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <[email protected]>

---

Add a --no-tags option to "git clone" to clone without tags. Currently there's no easy way to clone a repository and end up with just a "master" branch via --single-branch, or track all branches and no tags. Now --no-tags can be added to "git clone" with or without --single-branch to clone a repository without tags.

Quoted 5 lines · Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason

Add a --no-tags option to "git clone" to clone without tags. Currently there's no easy way to clone a repository and end up with just a "master" branch via --single-branch, or track all branches and no tags. Now --no-tags can be added to "git clone" with or without --single-branch to clone a repository without tags.

Makes sense.

Documentation/git-clone.txt objects from the source repository into a pack in the cloned repository. · line 221

Quoted 4 lines

+--no-tags::

Documentation/git-clone.txt +3 -0

+	Don't clone any tags, and set `remote.origin.tagOpt=--no-tags`
+	in the config, ensuring that future `git pull` and `git fetch`
+	operations won't fetch any tags.

OK. Not just we ignore tags during the initial cloning, we set things up so that we do not _follow_ tags in subsequent fetches.

Quoted 5 lines · Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason

Add a --no-tags option to "git clone" to clone without tags. Currently there's no easy way to clone a repository and end up with just a "master" branch via --single-branch, or track all branches and no tags. Now --no-tags can be added to "git clone" with or without --single-branch to clone a repository without tags.

Makes sense.

Review

Quoted 4 lines

+--no-tags::

(quoted diff) +3 -0

+     Don't clone any tags, and set `remote.origin.tagOpt=--no-tags`
+     in the config, ensuring that future `git pull` and `git fetch`
+     operations won't fetch any tags.

OK. Not just we ignore tags during the initial cloning, we set things up so that we do not _follow_ tags in subsequent fetches.

s/won't fetch/won't follow/ is probably needed, as we still allow users to fetch tags by explicitly naming them on the command line. The only thing we are doing is to refrain from auto-following.

As an end-user facing help, exact configuration name and value is much less helpful than telling them the effect of the setting in the words they understand, i.e. "make later fetches not to follow tags" or something.

Hardcoded 'origin' in remote.origin.tagOpt is not correct anyway, so I'd suggest redoing this part of the doc.

Review static struct option builtin_clone_options[] = { · line 125

Quoted 6 lines

(quoted diff) +2 -0

@@ -120,6 +121,8 @@ static struct option builtin_clone_options[] = {
                      N_("deepen history of shallow clone, excluding rev")),
      OPT_BOOL(0, "single-branch", &option_single_branch,
                  N_("clone only one branch, HEAD or --branch")),
+     OPT_BOOL_NONEG(0, "no-tags", &option_no_tags,
+                    N_("don't clone any tags, and set remote.<name>.tagOpt=--no-tags")),

Likewise. As an end-user facing help, exact configuration name and value is much less helpful than telling them the effect of the setting in the words they understand, i.e. "make later fetches not to follow tags" or something.

Review static struct option builtin_clone_options[] = { · line 127

Quoted 2 lines

(quoted diff) +2 -0

+     if (option_no_tags) {
+             strbuf_addf(&key, "remote.%s.tagOpt", option_origin);

Good to use option_origin.

Review static struct option builtin_clone_options[] = {

Quoted 4 lines

(quoted diff) +4 -0

+             git_config_set(key.buf, "--no-tags");
+             strbuf_reset(&key);
+     }
+

Thanks.

Add a --no-tags option to "git clone" to clone without tags. Currently there's no easy way to clone a repository and end up with just a "master" branch via --single-branch, or track all branches and no tags. Now --no-tags can be added to "git clone" with or without --single-branch to clone a repository without tags.

Before this the only way of doing this was either by manually tweaking the config in a fresh repository:

Which of course was also subtly buggy if --branch was pointed at a tag, leaving the user in a detached head:

    git clone --single-branch --branch v2.12.0 [email protected]:git/git.git &&
    cd git &&
    git config remote.origin.tagOpt --no-tags &&
    git tag -l | xargs git tag -d

Now all this complexity becomes the much simpler:

    git clone --single-branch --no-tags [email protected]:git/git.git

Or in the case of cloning a single tag "branch":

    git clone --single-branch --branch v2.12.0 --no-tags [email protected]:git/git.git

 Documentation/git-clone.txt | 14 ++++++++-
 builtin/clone.c             | 13 ++++++--
 t/t5612-clone-refspec.sh    | 73 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
 3 files changed, 95 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

Documentation/git-clone.txt +0 -0

index 30052cce49..57b3f478ed 100644

In other words, I think the commit message needs a bit more detail about the use case, to say why omitting those tags is useful. The use case is probably sane but it is not explained. A side effect (and my main motivation) is that this would make it crystal clear to people looking at the patch in history that it is talking about tags that are part of "master"'s history, not tags pointing elsewhere.

Quoted 2 lines

Before this the only way of doing this was either by manually tweaking the config in a fresh repository:

Usually commit messages refer to the state of things without some patch using the present tense --- e.g. "Without this patch, this --no-tags option can be emulated by (1) manually tweaking the config in a fresh repository, or (2) by setting tagOpt=--no-tags after cloning and deleting any existing tags".

Hi,

Quoted 5 lines · Ęvar Arnfjörš Bjarmason

Add a --no-tags option to "git clone" to clone without tags. Currently there's no easy way to clone a repository and end up with just a "master" branch via --single-branch, or track all branches and no tags. Now --no-tags can be added to "git clone" with or without --single-branch to clone a repository without tags.

Now I've read the discussion from v1, so you can see my thoughts evolving in real time. :)

The above feels a bit misleading when it says "there's no easy way to clone a repository and end up with just a 'master' branch". --single-branch does exactly that.

Some annotated tags *pointing to
its history* come along for the ride, but what harm are they doing?

In other words, I think the commit message needs a bit more detail about the use case, to say why omitting those tags is useful. The use case is probably sane but it is not explained. A side effect (and my main motivation) is that this would make it crystal clear to people looking at the patch in history that it is talking about tags that are part of "master"'s history, not tags pointing elsewhere.

Quoted 2 lines

Before this the only way of doing this was either by manually tweaking the config in a fresh repository:

Usually commit messages refer to the state of things without some patch using the present tense --- e.g. "Without this patch, this --no-tags option can be emulated by (1) manually tweaking the config in a fresh repository, or (2) by setting tagOpt=--no-tags after cloning and deleting any existing tags".

[...]

Quoted 3 lines

Which of course was also subtly buggy if --branch was pointed at a tag, leaving the user in a detached head:

Quoted 4 lines

    git clone --single-branch --branch v2.12.0 [email protected]:git/git.git &&
    cd git &&
    git config remote.origin.tagOpt --no-tags &&
    git tag -l | xargs git tag -d

At this point I lose the trail of thought. I don't think it's important to understanding the patch.

Quoted 7 lines

Now all this complexity becomes the much simpler:

    git clone --single-branch --no-tags [email protected]:git/git.git

Or in the case of cloning a single tag "branch":

    git clone --single-branch --branch v2.12.0 --no-tags [email protected]:git/git.git

Nice.

[...]

Quoted 5 lines

 Documentation/git-clone.txt | 14 ++++++++-
 builtin/clone.c             | 13 ++++++--
 t/t5612-clone-refspec.sh    | 73 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
 3 files changed, 95 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

Documentation/git-clone.txt SYNOPSIS · line 16

Quoted 10 lines

Documentation/git-clone.txt +1 -1

index 30052cce49..57b3f478ed 100644
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ SYNOPSIS
        [-l] [-s] [--no-hardlinks] [-q] [-n] [--bare] [--mirror]
        [-o <name>] [-b <name>] [-u <upload-pack>] [--reference <repository>]
        [--dissociate] [--separate-git-dir <git dir>]
-       [--depth <depth>] [--[no-]single-branch]
+       [--depth <depth>] [--[no-]single-branch] [--no-tags]

Can I pass --tags to negate a previous --no-tags?

[...]

Documentation/git-clone.txt objects from the source repository into a pack in the cloned repository. · line 225

Quoted 8 lines

+--no-tags::

Documentation/git-clone.txt +7 -0

+     Don't clone any tags, and set
+     `remote.<remote>.tagOpt=--no-tags` in the config, ensuring
+     that future `git pull` and `git fetch` operations won't follow
+     any tags. Subsequent explicit tag fetches will still work,
+     (see linkgit:git-fetch[1]).
++
+Can be used in conjunction with `--single-branch` to clone & maintain

nit: s/&/and/

[...]

Documentation/git-clone.txt

Quoted 4 lines

Documentation/git-clone.txt +4 -0

+test_expect_success 'clone with --no-tags' '
+     (
+             cd dir_all_no_tags && git fetch &&
+             git for-each-ref refs/tags >../actual

nit: this would be easier to read with the 'cd' and 'git fetch' on separate lines.

[...]

Documentation/git-clone.txt

Quoted 3 lines

Documentation/git-clone.txt +3 -0

+test_expect_success '--single-branch while HEAD pointing at master and --no-tags' '
+     (
+             cd dir_master_no_tags && git fetch &&

Likewise.

Documentation/git-clone.txt

Quoted 3 lines

Documentation/git-clone.txt +3 -0

+             git for-each-ref refs/remotes/origin |
+             sed -e "/HEAD$/d" \
+                 -e "s|/remotes/origin/|/heads/|" >../actual

Can $/ be expanded by the shell?

Add a --no-tags option to "git clone" to clone without tags. Currently there's no easy way to clone a repository and end up with just a "master" branch via --single-branch, or track all branches and no tags. Now --no-tags can be added to "git clone" with or without --single-branch to clone a repository without tags.