git-cloud

Manage git repos in cloud-synced folders (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive) without corruption.

The Problem

When you store git repos in cloud-synced folders:

• Multiple machines modify .git/ simultaneously
• Cloud sync causes corruption (dangling blobs, index conflicts, lock files)
• git fsck shows errors, repos break randomly

The Solution

Keep your working files in the cloud, but store .git/ locally on each machine:

~/GoogleDrive/dev/my-project/     ← Synced by cloud
├── src/                          ← Code (synced)
├── .env                          ← Secrets (synced, gitignored)
├── .git-remote                   ← Remote URL (synced, gitignored)
└── .git                          ← Pointer file (synced)
        ↓
        "gitdir: ~/.git-dirs/GoogleDrive/dev/my-project"
        ↓
~/.git-dirs/GoogleDrive/dev/my-project/   ← LOCAL (not synced)
├── objects/
├── refs/
└── ...

Installation

# One-liner install
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jgorostegui/git-cloud/main/install.sh | bash

# Or manual
git clone https://github.com/jgorostegui/git-cloud.git
cd git-cloud
./install.sh

Setup (once per machine)

1. Configure your cloud sync client

Insync (Google Drive):

Account Settings → Ignore Rules → Add:
.git/

Dropbox:

echo ".git/" >> ~/Dropbox/rules.dropboxignore

Important: Only ignore .git/ (directory), NOT .git (file). The pointer file should sync!

2. Configure git to ignore .git-remote

echo ".git-remote" >> ~/.gitignore_global
git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global

Usage

Clone a new repo into cloud folder

git-cloud clone git@github.com:user/repo.git ~/GoogleDrive/dev/repo

This:

• Clones to ~/GoogleDrive/dev/repo/
• Stores .git in ~/.git-dirs/GoogleDrive/dev/repo/
• Creates .git-remote with the URL (for other machines)

Setup on another machine (after cloud sync)

Files arrive via cloud sync, but no .git yet:

cd ~/GoogleDrive/dev/repo
git-cloud setup

This reads the URL from .git-remote and sets up git locally.

Migrate existing repo

If you already have a repo with .git/ in your cloud folder:

cd ~/GoogleDrive/dev/existing-repo
git-cloud migrate

This moves .git/ to local storage and creates a pointer.

Check status of all repos

git-cloud status

Shows:

• ✓ Properly configured repos
• ! Repos with .git/ directory (need migration)
• ✗ Broken pointers (need setup)
• ? Folders with .git-remote but no .git

Workflow Example

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LAPTOP (first time)                                             │
│                                                                 │
│ $ git-cloud clone git@github.com:me/project ~/GDrive/project   │
│                                                                 │
│ Cloud syncs: src/, .env, .git-remote                           │
│ Local only: ~/.git-dirs/GDrive/project/                        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼ (cloud sync)
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DESKTOP (after sync)                                            │
│                                                                 │
│ $ cd ~/GDrive/project                                          │
│ ⚠ Run 'git-cloud setup' to enable git                          │
│                                                                 │
│ $ git-cloud setup                                              │
│ Reading URL from .git-remote...                                │
│ Done!                                                          │
│                                                                 │
│ $ git status                                                   │
│ On branch main                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Commands Reference

Command	Description
git-cloud clone <url> [path]	Clone with local .git storage
git-cloud setup [url] [path]	Setup git for synced folder
git-cloud migrate [path]	Move existing .git to local storage
git-cloud status	Show all repos and their state
git-cloud help	Show help

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
GIT_DIRS	~/.git-dirs	Where to store .git directories
CLOUD_DIRS	~/GoogleDrive:~/Dropbox:~/OneDrive	Cloud folders to scan (colon-separated)

How it Works

Git supports storing the .git directory separately from the working tree using:

• git clone --separate-git-dir=<path> for new clones
• A .git file (not directory) containing gitdir: /path/to/.git

This is a standard git feature, not a hack. The git-cloud tool just automates the workflow.

Troubleshooting

"fatal: not a git repository"

Run git-cloud setup to connect the repo.

Cloud sync is syncing .git/ anyway

Make sure you're ignoring .git/ (with trailing slash) in your cloud client. The .git file (pointer) SHOULD sync - only the directory should be ignored.

Repos showing as modified after setup

This is normal if files differ from remote. Run git status to see what changed.

License

MIT