How to set upstream branch in git-svn?

Question

While working on a usual git repository a local branch usually tracks a corresponding remote upstream branch. This way I can easily see, whether I am ahead or behind of my upstream branch and therefore if I need to push or pull to bring them in sync. Also my prompt immediately shows this state, which is very convenient.

Now I am working on a SVN repository using git-svn. I used --prefix=svn for the clone, therefore git branch -r lists svn/trunk as a remote branch, but (although git svn rebase works without problems) it is not configured as an upstream branch for my master branch.

I tried to set the tracking information manually but it failed:

$ git branch -r
  svn/trunk
$ git branch --set-upstream-to=svn/trunk
fatal: Cannot setup tracking information; starting point 'svn/trunk' is not a branch.

Is there some way to track an svn upstream branch?

Is there some other easy way to know whether I am ahead or behind to that branch? (Looking at gitk --all is currently the only way I am aware of.)

Is there even some way to make my (bash __git_ps1) prompt show that information?

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$ git --version
git version 1.9.0.msysgit.0

Answer 1

This seems to be a bug introduced in git 1.9, since --set-upstream-to worked before exactly as you mention.
_{And strace displays correct locating and reading of the upstream branch ref, then however it's ignored for some reason.}

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My workaround for this issue is manual editing of .git/config:

$ cat >> .git/config << EOF

[branch "master"]
        remote = .
        merge = refs/svn/trunk
        rebase = true
EOF

— which should be equivalent to:

git branch --set-upstream-to=svn/trunk master

&& git config branch.master.rebase true (which you'll want with svn anyway)

— but is not, because of a bug! "Of course my refs/svn/trunk is a branch!" you say, and edit the config directly (with just a little bit of gentle force).

Your svn trunk could be named differently in git depending on how you cloned the repo (-s, -T, --prefix options to git svn clone). Just do a git branch -avv and find the correct one. For example, one possible name is refs/remotes/git-svn; or refs/svn/trunk as above; or even something else.

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Update Nov 2015

I still reproduce this on git version 2.1.4. Anyone to bother file a bug report?

Answer 2

This was still a problem for me using git 1.9.5.

And I did not get any of the solutions mentioned here to work, but this worked:

git rebase origin/remote-branch-name

After that git svn dcommit -n shows that it will indeed commit to that svn branch.

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Update: I had the same problem again and this time the above didn't work. I just got the message: Current branch master is up to date. However using:

git rebase -i origin/remote-branch-name

forced the rebase anyway and after that the upstream was set correctly.