by default.
objects/info/alternates::
- This file records absolute filesystem paths of alternate
- object stores that this object store borrows objects
- from, one pathname per line.
+ This file records paths to alternate object stores that
+ this object store borrows objects from, one pathname per
+ line. Note that not only native Git tools use it locally,
+ but the HTTP fetcher also tries to use it remotely; this
+ will usually work if you have relative paths (relative
+ to the object database, not to the repository!) in your
+ alternates file, but it will not work if you use absolute
+ paths unless the absolute path in filesystem and web URL
+ is the same. See also 'objects/info/http-alternates'.
+
+objects/info/http-alternates::
+ This file records URLs to alternate object stores that
+ this object store borrows objects from, to be used when
+ the repository is fetched over HTTP.
refs::
References are stored in subdirectories of this
object, or a tag object that points at a commit object).
HEAD::
- A symlink of the form `refs/heads/'name'` to point at
- the current branch, if exists. It does not mean much if
- the repository is not associated with any working tree
+ A symref (see glossary) to the `refs/heads/` namespace
+ describing the currently active branch. It does not mean
+ much if the repository is not associated with any working tree
(i.e. a 'bare' repository), but a valid git repository
- *must* have such a symlink here. It is legal if the
- named branch 'name' does not (yet) exist.
+ *must* have the HEAD file; some porcelains may use it to
+ guess the designated "default" branch of the repository
+ (usually 'master'). It is legal if the named branch
+ 'name' does not (yet) exist. In some legacy setups, it is
+ a symbolic link instead of a symref that points at the current
+ branch.
branches::
A slightly deprecated way to store shorthands to be used