Git refspecs and repository mirroring quick reference¶

One-page command matrix for refspecs, pull request fetching, dual-push configurations, and mirror replication.

1. Quick command matrix¶

Task	Command
Fetch all remote branches	`git fetch origin '+refs/heads/:refs/remotes/origin/'`
Fetch specific PR locally	`git fetch origin refs/pull/<id>/head:pr-<id>`
Fetch all Forgejo/GitHub PRs	`git config --add remote.origin.fetch '+refs/pull//head:refs/remotes/origin/pr/'`
Fetch all GitLab MRs	`git config --add remote.origin.fetch '+refs/merge-requests//head:refs/remotes/origin/mr/'`
Push to multiple remotes	`git config --add remote.origin.pushurl <url2>`
Full mirror clone	`git clone --mirror <url> <repo>.git`
Atomic mirror push	`git push --prune --atomic <remote> '+refs/:refs/'`
Prune stale tracking branches	`git fetch --prune origin`
Sync Git LFS objects across mirrors	`git lfs fetch --all origin && git lfs push --all backup`

2. Refspec syntax patterns¶

[+]<source-pattern>:<destination-pattern>

+refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/* : Force update all tracking branches.
refs/tags/*:refs/tags/* : Synchronize all tags without forcing overwrites.
+refs/tags/*:refs/tags/* : Synchronize all tags and overwrite modified tags.
^refs/heads/feature/* : Exclude feature branches from fetch (Git 2.29+).
+refs/notes/*:refs/notes/* : Synchronize Git notes.

3. Dual-push configuration snippet¶

Add secondary destination URLs to push to multiple hosts with a single command:

git remote set-url --add --push origin git@git.local.sneakysquid.xyz:hermes/repo.git
git remote set-url --add --push origin git@github.com:sneakysquid/repo.git

Verify configured URLs:

git remote -v

4. Disaster recovery sync recipe¶

Run on a CI runner to replicate from primary forge to backup forge:

# 1. Update local mirror cache
git fetch --prune origin '+refs/*:refs/*'

# 2. Push all branches, tags, and refs atomically
git push --prune --atomic backup '+refs/*:refs/*'

# 3. Synchronize LFS payloads
git lfs fetch --all origin
git lfs push --all backup