Git checkout on a remote branch does not work.

Question

My problem is related to:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/180064/fatal-git-error-when-switching-branch

I try to fetch a remote branch with the command

git checkout -b local-name origin/remote-name

but I get this error message:

fatal: git checkout: updating paths is incompatible with switching branches.
Did you intend to checkout 'origin/remote-name' which can not be resolved as commit?

If I mannually create a branch, and then pull the remote branch, it does work, just as makeing a new clone and checking the branch out.

But I want to know why it does not work on the repository I work with.

Answer 1

I don't know why, or how, but this seemed to have solved my problem.

Some (seemly) arbitrary commands seem to solve the problem:

git checkout -f master
git pull
git checkout --track -b

Although you get some error messages, it does work.

Answer 2

Could your issue be linked to this other SO question "checkout problem"?

i.e.: a problem related to:

• an old version of Git
• a curious checkout syntax, which should be: git checkout -b [<new_branch>] [<start_point>], with [<start_point>] referring to the name of a commit at which to start the new branch, and 'origin/remote-name' is not that.
  (whereas git branch does support a start_point being the name of a remote branch)

Note: what the checkout.sh script says is:

  if test '' != "$newbranch$force$merge"
  then
    die "git checkout: updating paths is incompatible with switching branches/forcing$hint"
  fi

It is like the syntax git checkout -b [] [remote_branch_name] was both renaming the branch and resetting the new starting point of the new branch, which is deemed incompatible.

Answer 3

I believe this occurs when you are trying to checkout a remote branch that your local git repo is not aware of yet. Try:

git remote show origin

If the remote branch you want to checkout is under "New remote branches" and not "Tracked remote branches" then you need to fetch them first:

git fetch

Now it should work:

git checkout -b local-name origin/remote-name

Answer 4

alternate syntax

git fetch origin remote_branch_name:local_branch_name

http://github.com/guides/showing-and-tracking-remote-branches

Answer 5

I suspect there is no remote branch named remote-name, but that you've inadvertantly created a local branch named origin/remote-name.

Is it possible you at some point typed:

git branch origin/remote-name

Thus creating a local branch named origin/remote-name? Type this command:

git checkout origin/remote-name

You'll either see:

Switched to branch "origin/remote-name"

which means it's really a mis-named local branch, or

Note: moving to "origin/rework-isscoring" which isn't a local branch
If you want to create a new branch from this checkout, you may do so
(now or later) by using -b with the checkout command again. Example:
  git checkout -b 

which means it really is a remote branch.