Git pull and specify directory?

Question

i would like to run a git pull and specify the directory. some say using --git-dir and --work-tree should work but such as

git --git-dir=/var/www/.git --work-tree=/var/www pull

put this returns a "cannot be used without a working tree". The only time i can get this to work is if i use ".", ".." or any directory above the current directory

this post suggests maybe a bug? git pull while not in a git directory

in the end i need to run a sudo git pull in a single line. i welcome any work arounds. thanks

Answer 1

In the two years since this question was answered, Git 1.8 came out which supports calling git in other directories using the -C flag:

git -C /var/www pull