How to list Git remotes

What is a Git remote?

A Git remote refers to a version of a repository that is hosted on the internet, or on a network somewhere outside your local machine. Remotes make it possible to collaborate with others by allowing multiple developers to push to and pull from the repository. Typically, a remote is a repository on a service like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket, or on a private server.

This guide will explain what Git remotes are, how to list them, and provide some context on their usage.

Listing git remotes

Before you push your changes or fetch updates from the codebase, it's useful to check which remotes are configured. This helps ensure that you are interacting with the correct repository and can serve as a quick check to make sure you have configured your remotes properly.

How to list all remotes

To see which remotes are currently configured for your repository, you can use the git remote command. This command lists the names of all remotes:

git remote

When run, this might output something like:

origin
upstream

Explanation:

• origin: This is the default name Git gives to the remote from which you cloned the repository.
• upstream: Often used to refer to the original repository when yours is a fork of another project.

Viewing remote urls

To see more detailed information about these remotes, including their URLs, you can use:

git remote -v

This command outputs the remote names along with the URLs associated with the fetch and push operations:

origin    https://github.com/user/repo.git (fetch)
origin    https://github.com/user/repo.git (push)
upstream  https://github.com/original/repo.git (fetch)
upstream  https://github.com/original/repo.git (push)

Listing remotes with more detail

For even more detailed information about a specific remote, use:

git remote show <remote-name>

For example:

git remote show origin

This command will give detailed information about the remote called "origin," including its URL, the branches it tracks, and more.

Example output:

* remote origin
  Fetch URL: https://github.com/user/repo.git
  Push  URL: https://github.com/user/repo.git
  HEAD branch: main
  Remote branches:
    main tracked
    develop tracked
  Local branch configured for 'git pull':
    main merges with remote main
    develop merges with remote develop
  Local ref configured for 'git push':
    main pushes to main (up to date)
    develop pushes to develop (up to date)

Managing git remotes

Beyond listing remotes, you may need to manage them by adding new ones or changing existing ones.

Adding a remote

In open-source projects, it's common to fork a repository to make changes independently. After forking, developers typically add the original repository as an additional remote (often named upstream) to their local clone. This setup allows them to fetch the latest updates from the original repository and keep their fork up to date. It's also necessary for submitting pull requests that merge their changes back into the main project.

If you want to add a new remote, run:

git remote add <remote-name> <remote-url>

For example:

git remote add upstream https://github.com/original/repo.git

Changing a remote's url

To change the URL of an existing remote, for instance if the repository has moved, run:

git remote set-url origin https://github.com/newuser/repo.git

Removing a remote

To remove a remote, for example if it was deleted, you can run:

git remote remove <remote-name>

If we were to remove the upstream we added in the last example, we'd run:

git remote remove upstream

For further reading, see the official Git documentation.