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g Managing remote repositories In this article
Writing on GitHub Learn to work with your local repositories on your computer and Adding a remote repository
remote repositories hosted on GitHub. Changing a remote repository's URL
Explore projects
Renaming a remote repository
Getting started with Git Mac Windows Linux Removing a remote repository
Further reading
Set your username
Caching credentials
Adding a remote repository
Git passwords
To add a new remote, use the git remote add command on the terminal, in the directory your
macOS Keychain credentials
repository is stored at.
Git workflows
About remote repositories
The git remote add command takes two arguments:
Manage remote repositories A remote name, for example, origin
Associate text editors A remote URL, for example, https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git
Handle line endings For example:
Ignoring files
$ git remote add origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git
Using Git # Set a new remote
$ git remote -v
Subversion
# Verify new remote
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
Exploring integrations > origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
Privacy on GitHub
For more information on which URL to use, see "About remote repositories."
Troubleshooting: Remote origin already exists
This error means you've tried to add a remote with a name that already exists in your local repository.
$ git remote add origin https://github.com/octocat/Spoon-Knife.git
> fatal: remote origin already exists.
To fix this, you can:
Use a different name for the new remote.
Rename the existing remote repository before you add the new remote. For more information,
see "Renaming a remote repository" below.
Delete the existing remote repository before you add the new remote. For more information, see
"Removing a remote repository" below.
Changing a remote repository's URL
The git remote set-url command changes an existing remote repository URL.
Tip: For information on the difference between HTTPS and SSH URLs, see "About remote repositories."
The git remote set-url command takes two arguments:
An existing remote name. For example, origin or upstream are two common choices.
A new URL for the remote. For example:
If you're updating to use HTTPS, your URL might look like:
https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git
If you're updating to use SSH, your URL might look like:
git@github.com:OWNER/REPOSITORY.git
Switching remote URLs from SSH to HTTPS
1 Open Git Bash.
2 Change the current working directory to your local project.
3 List your existing remotes in order to get the name of the remote you want to change.
$ git remote -v
> origin git@github.com:OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
> origin git@github.com:OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
4 Change your remote's URL from SSH to HTTPS with the git remote set-url command.
$ git remote set-url origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git
5 Verify that the remote URL has changed.
$ git remote -v
# Verify new remote URL
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
The next time you git fetch , git pull , or git push to the remote repository, you'll be asked for
your GitHub username and password. When Git prompts you for your password, enter your personal
access token. Alternatively, you can use a credential helper like Git Credential Manager. Password-
based authentication for Git has been removed in favor of more secure authentication methods. For
more information, see "Creating a personal access token."
You can use a credential helper so Git will remember your GitHub username and personal access
token every time it talks to GitHub.
Switching remote URLs from HTTPS to SSH
1 Open Git Bash.
2 Change the current working directory to your local project.
3 List your existing remotes in order to get the name of the remote you want to change.
$ git remote -v
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
4 Change your remote's URL from HTTPS to SSH with the git remote set-url command.
$ git remote set-url origin git@github.com:OWNER/REPOSITORY.git
5 Verify that the remote URL has changed.
$ git remote -v
# Verify new remote URL
> origin git@github.com: OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
> origin git@github.com: OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
Troubleshooting: No such remote '[name]'
This error means that the remote you tried to change doesn't exist:
$ git remote set-url sofake https://github.com/octocat/Spoon-Knife
> fatal: No such remote 'sofake'
Check that you've correctly typed the remote name.
Renaming a remote repository
Use the git remote rename command to rename an existing remote.
The git remote rename command takes two arguments:
An existing remote name, for example, origin
A new name for the remote, for example, destination
Example of renaming a remote repository
These examples assume you're cloning using HTTPS, which is recommended.
$ git remote -v
# View existing remotes
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
$ git remote rename origin destination
# Change remote name from 'origin' to 'destination'
$ git remote -v
# Verify remote's new name
> destination https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
> destination https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
Troubleshooting: Could not rename config section 'remote.[old name]' to
'remote.[new name]'
This error means that the old remote name you typed doesn't exist.
You can check which remotes currently exist with the git remote -v command:
$ git remote -v
# View existing remotes
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
Troubleshooting: Remote [new name] already exists
This error means that the remote name you want to use already exists. To solve this, either use a
different remote name, or rename the original remote.
Removing a remote repository
Use the git remote rm command to remove a remote URL from your repository.
The git remote rm command takes one argument:
A remote name, for example, destination
Removing the remote URL from your repository only unlinks the local and remote repositories. It does
not delete the remote repository.
Example of removing a remote repository
These examples assume you're cloning using HTTPS, which is recommended.
$ git remote -v
# View current remotes
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
> destination https://github.com/FORKER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
> destination https://github.com/FORKER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
$ git remote rm destination
# Remove remote
$ git remote -v
# Verify it's gone
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (fetch)
> origin https://github.com/OWNER/REPOSITORY.git (push)
Note: git remote rm does not delete the remote repository from the server. It simply removes the remote and
its references from your local repository.
Troubleshooting: Could not remove config section 'remote.[name]'
This error means that the remote you tried to delete doesn't exist:
$ git remote rm sofake
> error: Could not remove config section 'remote.sofake'
Check that you've correctly typed the remote name.
Further reading
"Working with Remotes" from the Pro Git book
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