unable to set initial-branch

[simkimsia]

git_repo = git.Repo.init(path_to_folder_with_no_working_tree, initial_branch="main")

gives me

git.exc.GitCommandError: Cmd('git') failed due to: exit code(129)
  cmdline: git init --initial-branch=main
  stderr: 'error: unknown option `initial-branch=main'
usage: git init [-q | --quiet] [--bare] [--template=<template-directory>] [--shared[=<permissions>]] [<directory>]

Workaround

I have to resort to this

init_git(path_to_folder_with_no_working_tree)

def execute(*args, supress_exception=False, cwd=None):
    cur_dir = os.getcwd()

    try:
        if cwd:
            os.chdir(cwd)

        proc = subprocess.Popen(args, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)

        out, err = proc.communicate()
        out = out.decode("utf-8")
        err = err.decode("utf-8")
        if err and not supress_exception:
            raise Exception(err)
        else:
            return out
    finally:
        os.chdir(cur_dir)


def init_git(project_directory):
    # workaround for issue #1
    if not os.path.exists(os.path.join(project_directory, ".git")):
        execute(
            "git",
            "config",
            "--global",
            "init.defaultBranch",
            "main",
            cwd=project_directory,
        )
        execute("git", "init", cwd=project_directory)

Is there a better way to do the same thing?

[Byron]

GitPython does nothing more but to execute git like so: git init --initial-branch=main, which might not work with all git versions. My suspicion is that the flag is a more recent feature than the config option, which is why that one works. On 2.30.1 it's definitely available, and it seems to have been added about a year ago.

[simkimsia]

So what should I do? Stick to my workaround?

[Byron]

Either that or see if the git binary can be upgraded to a more recent version. Only if its possible to execute git init --initial-branch=main by hand on the system the software is deployed to will GitPython work as expected.

[simkimsia]

Either that or see if the git binary can be upgraded to a more recent version. Only if its possible to execute git init --initial-branch=main by hand on the system the software is deployed to will GitPython work as expected.

I see

Does GitPython handle the flag init.defaultBranch?

[Byron]

It does not. In case it's unclear, it only calls the git executable for most tasks, and init is one of them. That's why this conversation isn't about GitPython, apparently, but really about the capabilities of the git executable on the system the software gets deployed to.

[simkimsia]

Ok I get it now

Sorry it took me so long to go grok