---
topic: remote-config
source_keys:
  - git-scm-remote-docs
  - context7-git-htmldocs
---

# Remote configuration

Which remotes exist, where they point, and what they track.

`git remote show <name>` needs network access — use `-n` for cached data offline, or `git remote -v`, which lists URLs without querying.

## Add, remove, rename, inspect

- **Add**: `git remote add <name> <url>`, or `-f` to fetch immediately
- **Remove**: `git remote remove <name>` — deletes the remote, all its tracking refs, and its config
- **Rename**: `git remote rename <old> <new>`
- **Inspect**: `git remote -v` (URLs, offline) or `git remote show <name>` (live tracking status)
- **Effective URLs**: `git remote get-url <name>` shows the URL after `insteadOf` rewrites; `git remote get-url --push --all <name>` lists every push URL

## Tracking, mirroring, housekeeping

- **Track one branch**: `git remote add -t <branch> <name> <url>` (repeatable); `--no-tags` suppresses tag import entirely
- **Mirror**: `--mirror=fetch` mirrors all refs locally (bare repos only); `--mirror=push` makes every push behave like `--mirror`
- **Prune stale tracking refs without fetching**: `git remote prune <name>`, with `--dry-run` to preview
- **Default branch pointer**: `git remote set-head <name> -a` (auto-detect, needs a prior fetch), `... <branch>` (explicit), `... -d` (delete `refs/remotes/<name>/HEAD`)

## `set-url` — full form

```bash
git remote set-url <name> <newurl>                  # replace the first fetch URL
git remote set-url <name> <newurl> <oldurl-regex>   # replace only the URL matching regex
git remote set-url --push <name> <url>              # change push URL only (must point at same repo)
git remote set-url --add <name> <url>               # add an extra push URL (push to multiple remotes)
git remote set-url --delete <name> <regex>          # remove URLs matching regex
```

`--push` changes only where pushes go — fetch and push URLs must still reference the same repository. For genuine fetch-from-A / push-to-B workflows, use two separate named remotes instead; `--push` cannot do this.