How do I get a new git branch to show its state relative to its remote?

Question

Normally when I run git status on a master branch that has a corresponding remote I get info that gives me a comparison between my current branches state and its remote (at the last point communication occurred), e.g. something like

your branch is X commits ahead of 'origin/master'

or

Your branch is up-to-date with 'origin/master'

In a git repository I created a new branch

git checkout -b new_branch

added some new commits
and pushed to to remote

Now if I add any new commits to my local repository on the new_branch and run git status it doesnt give me any information about how my local branch compares to its remote.
How can I get git to report this information automatically, like it does on master?

possible duplicate of [Make an existing Git branch track a remote branch?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/520650/make-an-existing-git-branch-track-a-remote-branch) — Andrew Marshall, Jun 27 '15 at 13:04
How are you pushing to the remote? What you ask is automatic for tracking branches — AD7six, Jun 27 '15 at 13:04

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 27 '15 at 13:08

3

Your branch is not yet tracking an upstream branch. See tracking branches. To resolve it, set the upstream branch once when you push.

git push --set-upstream origin new_branch

answered Jun 27 '15 at 13:08

Jeremy Fortune

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Am I correct in assuming this would only work at the time I created the branch? as the branch exists Im wondering if I should use git branch -u origin new_branch` as per the linked answer – the_velour_fog Jun 27 '15 at 13:13
No, you can do it at any time. The only real difference is that `push` will push refs, while `branch -u` just sets the attribute. Both work. – Jeremy Fortune Jun 27 '15 at 17:26

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 27 '15 at 13:28

2

You can do the following:

git branch -u origin/branch_name

This will set up the branch branch_name to track remote branch branch_name from origin.

As per git-scm.com:

If you already have a local branch and want to set it to a remote branch you just pulled down, or want to change the upstream branch you’re tracking, you can use the -u or --set-upstream-to option to git branch to explicitly set it at any time.

answered Jun 27 '15 at 13:28

Rahul Gupta

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I have an existing branch locally, I tried your command - it failed with: *warning: refname 'origin/new_branch' is ambiguous. fatal: Ambiguous object name: 'origin/new_branch'.* – the_velour_fog Jun 27 '15 at 13:42
Try using `refs/remotes/origin/branch_name` instead of `origin/branch_name`. – Rahul Gupta Jun 27 '15 at 13:48
Specifying the full refname of the branch you wish to track should remove the ambiguity. – Rahul Gupta Jun 27 '15 at 14:20

How do I get a new git branch to show its state relative to its remote?

2 Answers2