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Badr Hari
Badr Hari

Reputation: 8384

Rename file with Git

I would like to rename file from README to README.md. What is the best practice to do that?

I have only one repo called "change-z-index".

  1. I open and login like that:

    ssh -T [email protected]

And I enter my passphrase.

  1. I try to rename the file like that:

    git mv README README.md
git commit -m "renamed"
git push origin master

It gives me an error saying bad source.

I think I need to select my repo first... its name is "change-z-index". I have read manual many times, but still can't understand how to do it.

Upvotes: 138

Views: 230280

Answers (9)

Monalisa Das
Monalisa Das

Reputation: 757

One of the simplest way to do it is remove the file from repository first i.e remove the file from the folder structure, paste it somewhere else for later reference and then push those changes. Next you need to push files with updated name so go back to the folder location where files were pasted, update all with correct names and references, paste back at original file location and then push those changes. Works fine

Upvotes: 0

first
first

Reputation: 733

This might be relevant for some geeks; if you want to rename a file on GitHub (without the command line), all you can do is open your repository and press period ., this will open a web version of VScode, where you can make changes and commit.

Upvotes: 3

Jitender Kumar
Jitender Kumar

Reputation: 2587

What I learned after fixing this is that, Your mv command should fulfil two conditions, after providing the correct file path:

  1. Give the full file name, including the file extension.
  2. There should NOT be any pending changes to some other files.

Upvotes: 0

Chris Howard
Chris Howard

Reputation: 121

I had a similar problem going through a tutorial.

# git mv README README.markdown

fatal: bad source, source=README, destination=README.markdown

I included the filetype in the source file:

# git mv README.rdoc README.markdown

and it worked perfectly. Don't forget to commit the changes with i.e.: 

# git commit -a -m "Improved the README"

Sometimes it is simple little things like that, that piss us off. LOL

Upvotes: 8

jaredwilli
jaredwilli

Reputation: 12308

You can rename a file using git's mv command:

$ git mv file_from file_to

Example:

$ git mv helo.txt hello.txt

$ git status
# On branch master
# Changes to be committed:
#   (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)
#
#   renamed:    helo.txt -> hello.txt
#

$ git commit -m "renamed helo.txt to hello.txt"
[master 14c8c4f] renamed helo.txt to hello.txt
 1 files changed, 0 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
 rename helo.txt => hello.txt (100%)

Upvotes: 71

VonC
VonC

Reputation: 1324318

Note that, from March 15th, 2013, you can move or rename a file directly from GitHub:

(you don't even need to clone that repo, git mv xx and git push back to GitHub!)

renaming

You can also move files to entirely new locations using just the filename field.
To navigate down into a folder, just type the name of the folder you want to move the file into followed by /.
The folder can be one that’s already part of your repository, or it can even be a brand-new folder that doesn’t exist yet!

moving

Upvotes: 46

Ryan S
Ryan S

Reputation: 6474

You've got "Bad Status" its because the target file cannot find or not present, like for example you call README file which is not in the current directory.

Upvotes: 3

Philip Oakley
Philip Oakley

Reputation: 14061

Do a git status to find out if your file is actually in your index or the commit.

It is easy as a beginner to misunderstand the index/staging area.

I view it as a 'progress pinboard'. I therefore have to add the file to the pinboard before I can commit it (i.e. a copy of the complete pinboard), I have to update the pinboard when required, and I also have to deliberately remove files from it when I've finished with them - simply creating, editing or deleting a file doesn't affect the pinboard. It's like 'storyboarding'.

Edit: As others noted, You should do the edits locally and then push the updated repo, rather than attempt to edit directly on github.

Upvotes: 4

hammar
hammar

Reputation: 139840

As far as I can tell, GitHub does not provide shell access, so I'm curious about how you managed to log in in the first place.

$ ssh -T [email protected]
Hi username! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide
shell access.

You have to clone your repository locally, make the change there, and push the change to GitHub.

$ git clone [email protected]:username/reponame.git
$ cd reponame
$ git mv README README.md
$ git commit -m "renamed"
$ git push origin master

Upvotes: 187

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