Create branch on origin and track it locally

README.md

Script for creating tracking branches on origin

The script attempts to be agnostic to both git version and gitconfig settings.

To mimic the script in a git alias, run the following command:

git config -g alias.mkbranch '!foo() { git fetch origin && git checkout -b "$1" "${2:-origin/master}" && git push -u origin "$1":"$1"; }; foo'

Alternatively, copy or create a symlink from this script to somewhere in your $PATH and give it the name git-mkbranc for the same effect:

ln -s /path/to/script/git-mkbranch.sh ~/bin/git-mkbranch

git-mkbranch.sh

#!/bin/sh
set -e
if [ -z "$1" ]; then
    echo "Usage: $0 <new_name> [<base>]"
    echo "Creates branch <new_name> on origin and tracks it locally."
    echo "Default <base> starting point is origin/master."
    exit 1
fi
git fetch origin
git checkout -b "$1" "${2:-origin/master}"
git push -u origin "$1":"$1"