remote: resolve "simple" @{push} when pushing to another remote

From: Harald Nordgren <[email protected]>

With push.default left at "simple", a branch whose upstream is on one remote and whose push remote is another gets pushed by "git push" to a branch of the same name on the push remote. But @{push} for that branch fails with "cannot resolve 'simple' push to a single destination". As a result "git status" shows the "git push" hint under the comparison with the upstream, even though "git push" goes elsewhere, and leaves out the comparison with the push branch when status.compareBranches asks for it.

"git push" learned to handle "simple" this way in ed2b18292b (push:
change simple to accommodate triangular workflows, 2013-06-19). When @{push} was added in e291c75a95 (remote.c: add branch_get_push, 2015-05-21), its "simple" case only covered pushing back to the remote the branch is fetched from, where the upstream must have the same name.

Make @{push} follow "git push". When the push remote is not the remote of the branch, resolve to the branch of the same name on the push remote, as "current" does.

The test added in 9bf9eed093 (remote: fix leak in branch_get_push_1() with invalid "simple" config, 2026-01-19) relied on a different push remote being invalid for "simple". Use an upstream with a different name on the same remote instead, so that it still exercises the error path.

---
remote: resolve "simple" @{push} when pushing to another remote

With push.default=simple and remote.pushDefault pointing at a fork, git push pushes the branch to the fork, but @{push} fails with "cannot resolve 'simple' push to a single destination".

So git status cannot compare the branch with where it was pushed. Make @{push} resolve to where git push goes.

Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-git-2466%2FHaraldNordgren%2Fat-push-simple-triangular-v1
Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-git-2466/HaraldNordgren/at-push-simple-triangular-v1
Pull-Request: https://github.com/git/git/pull/2466

 remote.c                  |  4 ++++
 t/for-each-ref-tests.sh   |  4 +++-
 t/t1514-rev-parse-push.sh | 11 +++++++++++
 3 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

index 49ee2ea318..fd434a3a10 100644
@@ -2016,6 +2016,10 @@ static char *branch_get_push_1(struct repository *repo,
 			const char *up;
 			char *cur;
 
+			if (strcmp(remote->name,
+				   remotes_remote_for_branch(remote_state, branch, NULL)))
+				return tracking_for_push_dest(repo, remote, branch->refname, err);
+
 			up = branch_get_upstream(branch, err);
 			if (!up)
 				return NULL;

index b1a10dd933..4991a82b91 100644
@@ -1745,9 +1745,11 @@ test_expect_success ':remotename and :remoteref' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success '%(push) with an invalid push-simple config' '
+	test_when_finished "git config branch.main.merge refs/heads/main" &&
+	git config branch.main.merge refs/heads/not-main &&
 	echo "refs/heads/main " >expect &&
 	git -c push.default=simple \
-	    -c remote.pushdefault=myfork \
+	    -c remote.pushdefault=origin \
 	    for-each-ref \
 	    --format="%(refname) %(push)" refs/heads/main >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual

index 5a4f16867a..4187e2a504 100755
@@ -60,6 +60,17 @@ test_expect_success '@{push} with pushremote defined' '
 	resolve topic@{push} refs/remotes/other/topic
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'triangular @{push} with default=simple and remote.pushdefault' '
+	test_config push.default simple &&
+	test_config remote.pushdefault other &&
+	test_when_finished "git checkout main" &&
+	git checkout topic &&
+	test_commit simple-triangular &&
+	git push &&
+	resolve topic@{push} refs/remotes/other/topic &&
+	test_cmp_rev topic topic@{push}
+'
+
 test_expect_success '@{p} is short for @{push}' '
 	test_config push.default current &&
 	test_config branch.topic.pushremote other &&

base-commit: 7e34d8174dcda3435d1404c9a30bef46afe6c13e

gitgitgadget

At first I was a bit confused about the need for a different push remote, but then I realized: simple's documentation says that if the push and pull remote are the *same* you need the upstream to have the same name! So in the differing case, it might behave quite differently than I'm used to.

Whatever else we do, making @{push} work in more scenarios seems good to me so we can be consistent.

Thanks!

Harald

I actually wondered if the existing case for "simple" becomes a subset of this new code? After all, tracking_for_push_dest() asks where the thing gets pushed to, no?

In any case, all the case arms in this function is getting a bit unmanageably long and this block is, with an extra artificial block, unnecessarily deeply nested by one extra level. I wonder if we can move the code for "case PUSH_DEFAULT_SIMPLE" case to a separate function and make it a bit more readable?

I agree that the end result the commit wants to see is sensible and consistent with the earlier "what should happen with 'simple' when triangular?" topic.

Thanks.

Yes, both resolve to the same branch. The same remote case only adds a check that the upstream has the same name, because "git push" refuses otherwise.

Good point.

Harald

With push.default=simple and remote.pushDefault pointing at a fork, git push pushes the branch to the fork, but @{push} fails with "cannot resolve 'simple' push to a single destination".

So git status cannot compare the branch with where it was pushed. Make @{push} resolve to where git push goes.

Changes in v2:

* Moved the "simple" @{push} code out of branch_get_push_1() into its own function in a new preparatory commit.

Harald Nordgren (2):
remote: move "simple" @{push} resolution into a helper
remote: resolve "simple" @{push} when pushing to another remote

 remote.c                  | 43 +++++++++++++++++++++++----------------
 t/for-each-ref-tests.sh   |  4 +++-
 t/t1514-rev-parse-push.sh | 13 +++++++++++-
 3 files changed, 41 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-)

base-commit: b9e5cff1803ab24582201ef059516eb16014b9d9
Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-git-2466%2FHaraldNordgren%2Fat-push-simple-triangular-v2
Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-git-2466/HaraldNordgren/at-push-simple-triangular-v2
Pull-Request: https://github.com/git/git/pull/2466

Range-diff vs v1:

 -:  ---------- > 1:  151fef69b9 remote: move "simple" @{push} resolution into a helper
 1:  d2b1a00d23 ! 2:  c58afcc4b1 remote: resolve "simple" @{push} when pushing to another remote

@@ Commit message

## remote.c ##
-@@ remote.c: static char *branch_get_push_1(struct repository *repo,
- const char *up;
- char *cur;
+@@ remote.c: static char *branch_get_push_simple(struct repository *repo,
+ struct branch *branch,
+ struct strbuf *err)
+ {
+- const char *up;
++ const char *up = NULL;
+ char *cur;

-+ if (strcmp(remote->name,
-+ remotes_remote_for_branch(remote_state, branch, NULL)))
-+ return tracking_for_push_dest(repo, remote, branch->refname, err);
-+
- up = branch_get_upstream(branch, err);
- if (!up)
- return NULL;
+- up = branch_get_upstream(branch, err);
+- if (!up)
+- return NULL;
++ if (!strcmp(remote->name,
++ remotes_remote_for_branch(repo->remote_state, branch, NULL))) {
++ up = branch_get_upstream(branch, err);
++ if (!up)
++ return NULL;
++ }
+ cur = tracking_for_push_dest(repo, remote, branch->refname, err);
+ if (!cur)
+ return NULL;
+- if (strcmp(cur, up)) {
++ if (up && strcmp(cur, up)) {
+ free(cur);
+ return error_buf(err,
+ _("cannot resolve 'simple' push to a single destination"));

## t/for-each-ref-tests.sh ##
@@ t/for-each-ref-tests.sh: test_expect_success ':remotename and :remoteref' '
@@ t/for-each-ref-tests.sh: test_expect_success ':remotename and :remoteref' '
test_cmp expect actual

## t/t1514-rev-parse-push.sh ##
+@@ t/t1514-rev-parse-push.sh: test_expect_success '@{push} with default=simple' '
+ resolve main@{pUSh} refs/remotes/origin/main
+ '
+
+-test_expect_success 'triangular @{push} fails with default=simple' ' ++test_expect_success '@{push} with default=simple fails when upstream has a different name' '
+ test_config push.default simple &&
+ test_must_fail git rev-parse topic@{push}
+ '
@@ t/t1514-rev-parse-push.sh: test_expect_success '@{push} with pushremote defined' '
resolve topic@{push} refs/remotes/other/topic
'

gitgitgadget

From: Harald Nordgren <[email protected]>

The "simple" arm is the longest in the switch of branch_get_push_1() and needs an extra block to declare its variables. Give it its own function so that it reads at one level of indentation and the next commit can teach it about pushing to another remote without nesting it further.

No functional change.

---
 remote.c | 40 +++++++++++++++++++++++-----------------
 1 file changed, 23 insertions(+), 17 deletions(-)

index 49ee2ea318..d15d34aad7 100644
@@ -1967,6 +1967,28 @@ static char *tracking_for_push_dest(struct repository *repo,
 	return ret;
 }
 
+static char *branch_get_push_simple(struct repository *repo,
+				    struct remote *remote,
+				    struct branch *branch,
+				    struct strbuf *err)
+{
+	const char *up;
+	char *cur;
+
+	up = branch_get_upstream(branch, err);
+	if (!up)
+		return NULL;
+	cur = tracking_for_push_dest(repo, remote, branch->refname, err);
+	if (!cur)
+		return NULL;
+	if (strcmp(cur, up)) {
+		free(cur);
+		return error_buf(err,
+				 _("cannot resolve 'simple' push to a single destination"));
+	}
+	return cur;
+}
+
 static char *branch_get_push_1(struct repository *repo,
 			       struct branch *branch, struct strbuf *err)
 {

@@ -2012,23 +2034,7 @@ static char *branch_get_push_1(struct repository *repo,
 
 	case PUSH_DEFAULT_UNSPECIFIED:
 	case PUSH_DEFAULT_SIMPLE:
-		{
-			const char *up;
-			char *cur;
-
-			up = branch_get_upstream(branch, err);
-			if (!up)
-				return NULL;
-			cur = tracking_for_push_dest(repo, remote, branch->refname, err);
-			if (!cur)
-				return NULL;
-			if (strcmp(cur, up)) {
-				free(cur);
-				return error_buf(err,
-						 _("cannot resolve 'simple' push to a single destination"));
-			}
-			return cur;
-		}
+		return branch_get_push_simple(repo, remote, branch, err);
 	}
 
 	BUG("unhandled push situation");

gitgitgadget

From: Harald Nordgren <[email protected]>

With push.default left at "simple", a branch whose upstream is on one remote and whose push remote is another gets pushed by "git push" to a branch of the same name on the push remote. But @{push} for that branch fails with "cannot resolve 'simple' push to a single destination". As a result "git status" shows the "git push" hint under the comparison with the upstream, even though "git push" goes elsewhere, and leaves out the comparison with the push branch when status.compareBranches asks for it.

"git push" learned to handle "simple" this way in ed2b18292b (push:
change simple to accommodate triangular workflows, 2013-06-19). When @{push} was added in e291c75a95 (remote.c: add branch_get_push, 2015-05-21), its "simple" case only covered pushing back to the remote the branch is fetched from, where the upstream must have the same name.

Make @{push} follow "git push". When the push remote is not the remote of the branch, resolve to the branch of the same name on the push remote, as "current" does.

The test added in 9bf9eed093 (remote: fix leak in branch_get_push_1() with invalid "simple" config, 2026-01-19) relied on a different push remote being invalid for "simple". Use an upstream with a different name on the same remote instead, so that it still exercises the error path.

---
 remote.c                  | 13 ++++++++-----
 t/for-each-ref-tests.sh   |  4 +++-
 t/t1514-rev-parse-push.sh | 13 ++++++++++++-
 3 files changed, 23 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

index d15d34aad7..98665a3085 100644
@@ -1972,16 +1972,19 @@ static char *branch_get_push_simple(struct repository *repo,
 				    struct branch *branch,
 				    struct strbuf *err)
 {
-	const char *up;
+	const char *up = NULL;
 	char *cur;
 
-	up = branch_get_upstream(branch, err);
-	if (!up)
-		return NULL;
+	if (!strcmp(remote->name,
+		    remotes_remote_for_branch(repo->remote_state, branch, NULL))) {
+		up = branch_get_upstream(branch, err);
+		if (!up)
+			return NULL;
+	}
 	cur = tracking_for_push_dest(repo, remote, branch->refname, err);
 	if (!cur)
 		return NULL;
-	if (strcmp(cur, up)) {
+	if (up && strcmp(cur, up)) {
 		free(cur);
 		return error_buf(err,
 				 _("cannot resolve 'simple' push to a single destination"));

index b1a10dd933..4991a82b91 100644
@@ -1745,9 +1745,11 @@ test_expect_success ':remotename and :remoteref' '
 '
 
 test_expect_success '%(push) with an invalid push-simple config' '
+	test_when_finished "git config branch.main.merge refs/heads/main" &&
+	git config branch.main.merge refs/heads/not-main &&
 	echo "refs/heads/main " >expect &&
 	git -c push.default=simple \
-	    -c remote.pushdefault=myfork \
+	    -c remote.pushdefault=origin \
 	    for-each-ref \
 	    --format="%(refname) %(push)" refs/heads/main >actual &&
 	test_cmp expect actual

index 5a4f16867a..dc2df7eb80 100755
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ test_expect_success '@{push} with default=simple' '
 	resolve main@{pUSh} refs/remotes/origin/main
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'triangular @{push} fails with default=simple' '
+test_expect_success '@{push} with default=simple fails when upstream has a different name' '
 	test_config push.default simple &&
 	test_must_fail git rev-parse topic@{push}
 '

@@ -60,6 +60,17 @@ test_expect_success '@{push} with pushremote defined' '
 	resolve topic@{push} refs/remotes/other/topic
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'triangular @{push} with default=simple and remote.pushdefault' '
+	test_config push.default simple &&
+	test_config remote.pushdefault other &&
+	test_when_finished "git checkout main" &&
+	git checkout topic &&
+	test_commit simple-triangular &&
+	git push &&
+	resolve topic@{push} refs/remotes/other/topic &&
+	test_cmp_rev topic topic@{push}
+'
+
 test_expect_success '@{p} is short for @{push}' '
 	test_config push.default current &&
 	test_config branch.topic.pushremote other &&

gitgitgadget

Looking good. Will queue.

Thanks.