Daniel Barkalow <barkalow@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes: > ... In any case, I don't think "git clone" is at > all special with respect to GIT_CONFIG. I think "git init" and "git clone" are very special with respect to GIT_CONFIG. * When "init" is run to create a new repository and initialize it, the user would want the initial set of configuration populated in the configuration file _for that repository_. There however may be some customization that affects the way how "init" operates, which might be taken from $HOME/.gitconfig. The meaning of GIT_CONFIG can get fuzzy here. Possibilities: (1) Instead of $HOME/.gitconfig (or /etc/gitconfig), the user might want such customizations to be read from the file specified by GIT_CONFIG. But the user wants to make the resulting new repository usable without any custom GIT_CONFIG set (i.e. its $GIT_DIR/config will be the place the configuration is written). (2) The user may want to create a new repository that cannot be used with GIT_CONFIG (for some strange reason), i.e. no $GIT_DIR/config for the repository, and GIT_CONFIG is used to specify where that separate configuration file for the new repository is. The way "init" operates does not come from that configuration file that is to be created but from elsewhere. * When "clone" is run, the same confusion as initializing "init" applies. In addition, custom GIT_CONFIG to read customizations for behaviour of "init" and "fetch" that is done internally by "clone" would play larger role. * When "init" is run to reinitialize an existing repository, it is not special in any way with respect to GIT_CONFIG, compared to other commands. The GIT_CONFIG names the configuration for that existing repository, so we read from it and write to it. I personally think the case (2) is a very narrow special case that I do not think of any sane reason to even wanting to do so. IOW, "you _could_ interpret the presense of GIT_CONFIG that the user may want to do so, but why?" (1) is also probably not very sensible but it makes more sense. I think Dscho's original patch would support the semantics (1) and it is probably much saner than (2) which is your version does (if I am reading the two patches correctly). -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe git" in the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html