Stefan Beller wrote: > I'll resend it with a warning (using say()). Thanks, makes sense. > I think we have 2 bugs and this is merely fixing the second bug. I'm fearing that there are more than two. [...] > $ git init confused-head > $ (cd confused-head && git branch test \ > $(git commit-tree $(git write-tree) -m test)) > $ git clone --no-checkout --depth=1 \ > --separate-git-dir=test.git confused-head/.git test > Cloning into 'test'... > warning: --depth is ignored in local clones; use file:// instead. > done. > > $ git -C test.git config remote.origin.fetch > $ echo $? > 1 > > (A) Despite the warning of --depth having no impact, the > omission thereof changes the repository state. > (B) There is no remote.origin.fetch configuration, which > is weird. See builtin/clone.c:830, that states for this case: I can reproduce the issue without submodules and without --local, as follows: git init --bare empty.git git init --bare almost-empty.git git -C ~/src/git push $(pwd)/almost-empty HEAD:refs/heads/upstream git clone --single-branch file://$(pwd)/empty.git git clone --single-branch file://$(pwd)/almost-empty.git git -C almost-empty.git branch -D upstream git -C empty fetch git -C almost-empty fetch Expected result: Both fetches succeed. Actual result: First fetch succeeds, second produces "fatal: Couldn't find remote ref HEAD". Note that empty.git and almost-empty.git are basically identical. The difference instead lies in the clones' .git/config files: diff --git 1/empty/.git/config 2/almost-empty/.git/config index b51bb0d..ee21198 100644 --- 1/empty/.git/config +++ 2/almost-empty/.git/config @@ -4,7 +4,4 @@ bare = false logallrefupdates = true [remote "origin"] - url = file:///tmp/t/empty.git -[branch "master"] - remote = origin - merge = refs/heads/master + url = file:///tmp/t/almost-empty.git Thanks, Jonathan