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I want to get all branch names of a git repository. Currently, I clone the repository then get them on local machine. This is inefficient because all I need is names and nothing else.

I wonder if it is possible to do that? If so, what command I can use.

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  • As long as you have access to the remote repository in question you can take a look in the refs/heads folder which you can find in your remote repository. The files in there are effectively the branches of the repository. Commented Sep 10, 2014 at 12:17
  • @Zeeker This requires shell access which is almost always disabled for git users. Commented Sep 10, 2014 at 12:44

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Locally, without cloning, you can type (using git ls-remote):

git ls-remote /url/of/the/upstream/repo

That will list of the remote HEADS and their associated branches

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Why does that command return two tags refs/tags/TAG and refs/tags/TAG^{} despite the fact that I only have one?
I found the answer here: stackoverflow.com/questions/12938972/what-does-mean-in-git. Thank you for your help!

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