Been using git for a long time, first time I have seen this. I am unable to checkout a branch. $ git status # On branch master nothing to commit, working directory clean $ git fetch --all Fetching origin * [new branch] deploy -> origin/deploy $ git checkout deploy $ git branch * master $ git checkout origin/deploy Note: checking out 'origin/deploy'. You are in 'detached HEAD' state. I tried deleting the local repo and recloning, but I got the same results. I see the branch on github. I can checkout other branches, just not this one. What could be going on?