Git push error: "origin does not appear to be a git repository"

Question

I am following the instructions given here to create a Git repository. All went well until the last line:

$ git push -u origin master  

fatal: 'origin' does not appear to be a git repository
fatal: The remote end hung up unexpectedly

I'm using git version 1.7.11.3 on OS X 10.6.8

$ git remote -v  

returns nothing

Config file for the repository:

[core]
repositoryformatversion = 0  
filemode = true  
bare = false
logallrefupdates = true  
ignorecase = true  

I've had to open sudoers file using sudo visudo command and add the following to it (under # User privilege specification):

git ALL=(ALL) ALL.  

Now if I do:

$ git remote add origin /Volumes/500GB/git-repository/myproject.git  

it comes back with no error, but I don't see any code in the repository (it has the aforementioned directories like branches, hooks, ...)

If I do:

$ git push -u origin master  
fatal: 'origin' does not appear to be a git repository
fatal: The remote end hung up unexpectedly

$ git remote -v   
origin /Volumes/500GB/git-repository/myproject.git (fetch)     
origin /Volumes/500GB/git-repository/myproject.git (push)

Answer 1

As it has already been mentioned in che's answer about adding the remote part, which I believe you are still missing.

Regarding your edit for adding remote on your local USB drive. First of all you must have a 'bare repository' if you want your repository to be a shared repository i.e. to be able to push/pull/fetch/merge etc..

To create a bare/shared repository, go to your desired location. In your case:

$ cd /Volumes/500gb/   
$ git init --bare myproject.git

See here for more info on creating bare repository

Once you have a bare repository set up in your desired location you can now add it to your working copy as a remote.

$ git remote add origin /Volumes/500gb/myproject.git

And now you can push your changes to your repository

$ git push origin master

Answer 2

Here are the instructions from github:

touch README.md
git init
git add README.md
git commit -m "first commit"
git remote add origin https://github.com/tqisjim/google-oauth.git
git push -u origin master

Here's what actually worked:

touch README.md
git init
git add README.md
git commit -m "first commit"
git remote add origin https://github.com/tqisjim/google-oauth.git
git clone origin master

After cloning, then the push command succeeds by prompting for a username and password

Answer 3

Most likely the remote repository doesn't exist or you have added the wrong one.

You have to first remove the origin and re-add it:

git remote remove origin
git remote add origin https://github.com/username/repository

Answer 4

Your config file does not include any references to "origin" remote. That section looks like this:

[remote "origin"]
    url = [email protected]:repository.git
    fetch = +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*

You need to add the remote using git remote add before you can use it.

Answer 5

When you create a repository in bitbucket.org, it gives you instructions on how to set up your local directory. Chances are, you just forgot to run the code:

git remote add origin https://[email protected]/username/reponame.git