How to git bundle a complete repo

I need to transfer a complete repo to a new non-networked machine, preferable as a single file entity. The git bundle allows a git fetch, git pull style operation in a sneakernet environment but appears to assume that you already have a working version of the repo on the destination machine.

What is the right invocation to:

1. Bundle all the branches in the current repo
2. Start up the new repo on the destination directory, i.e. get the root commit correctly installed

---

I've sent a patch upstream to clarify:

`git clone` can use any bundle created without negative refspecs
(e.g., `new`, but not `old..new`).
If you want to match `git clone --mirror`, which would clone other
refs such as `refs/remotes/*`, use `--all`.
If you want to provide the same set of refs that a clone directly
from the source repository would get, use `--branches --tags` for
the `<git-rev-list-args>`.

So $ git bundle create repo.bundle --branches --tags best matches cloning.

$ git bundle create repo.bundle --all will provide a mirror image of your source machine, including it's remote refs.

> What is the right invocation to: > > * Bundle all the branches in the current repo

Simple:

$ git bundle create repo.bundle --all

Here repo.bundle is the name of bundle file you want to create. Note that --all would not include remote-tracking branches... just like ordinary clone wouldn't either.

> * Start up the new repo on the destination directory, i.e. get the root commit correctly installed

First, clone is just init + fetch (+ administrativia).

Second, you can use bundle file everywhere the repository URL can be used, so you can simply clone from a bundle file:

$ git clone repo.bundle

This would create repo as a git repository.

First clone the repository, and include the --mirror option.

git clone --mirror [email protected]:path/repo.git

This ensures all remote branched are also local branches ready for bundeling.

Then run

git bundle create repo.bundle --all as described by the answer from Jakub Narębski

I would suggest you tar or zip the .git folder and simply unpack it in the new location and then do git reset --hard HEAD. Everything required for all the branches is under .git and all you should need to do is adjust any remotes in the .git/config file or remove them.

tar cf myrepo.tgz .git
cp myrepo.tgz [USB_STICK]
... move to new machine ...
mkdir myrepo && cd myrepo
tar xpf [USB_STICK]/myrepo.tgz
git reset --hard HEAD

With Git 2.34 (Q4 2021), git bundle create is further clarified:

See commit 1d9c8da, commit 0bb92f3, commit 9ab80dd, commit 5c8273d (31 Jul 2021) by Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason (avar).
^{(Merged by Junio C Hamano -- gitster -- in commit f19b275, 24 Aug 2021)}

> ## bundle doc: elaborate on object prerequisites
> ^{Signed-off-by: Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason}

> Split out the discussion bout "object prerequisites" into its own section, and add some more examples of the common cases.
> > See 2e0afaf ("Add git-bundle: move objects and references by archive", 2007-02-22, Git v1.5.1-rc1 -- merge) for the introduction of the documentation being changed here.

git bundle now includes in its man page:

> ## OBJECT PREREQUISITES > > > When creating bundles it is possible to create a self-contained bundle > that can be unbundled in a repository with no common history, as well > as providing negative revisions to exclude objects needed in the > earlier parts of the history. > > Feeding a revision such as new to git bundle create will create a > bundle file that contains all the objects reachable from the revision > new. That bundle can be unbundled in any repository to obtain a full > history that leads to the revision new: > > $ git bundle create full.bundle new > > A revision range such as old..new will produce a bundle file that > will require the revision old (and any objects reachable from it) > to exist for the bundle to be "unbundle"-able: > > $ git bundle create full.bundle old..new > > A self-contained bundle without any prerequisites can be extracted > into anywhere, even into an empty repository, or be cloned from > (i.e., new, but not old..new). >

git bundle now includes in its man page: > The 'git bundle verify' command can be used to check whether your > recipient repository has the required prerequisite commits for a > bundle.