Create a Git Repository Safely with git-init-db

git-init-db is the old name for git init, kept around for compatibility, and this guide covers it directly. If you found it in a script or an old tutorial and wondered whether it is safe to run, it is. The installed command is Git 2.43.0 from Ubuntu package 2.43.0-1ubuntu7.3. Allow about ten minutes for a first repository.

git init is the form you will see in current Git documentation. The examples below use git init-db so the command this guide is actually about stays explicit.

1. Choose the directory before creating anything

Creating a repository changes the target directory by adding Git metadata. Work as your ordinary user in a directory you own. No example here needs sudo; elevated privileges can leave the repository owned by root and make later commits awkward.

For an existing project, replace the placeholder with its real path and inspect it first:

$ PROJECT_DIR=/path/to/project
$ pwd
$ find "$PROJECT_DIR" -maxdepth 1 -mindepth 1 -printf '%f\n' | sort

2. Initialise a normal working repository

Change into the project and run the command without a directory argument. Git creates .git in the current directory, including the object and reference directories needed for future commits:

$ cd "$PROJECT_DIR"
$ git init-db
hint: Using 'master' as the name for the initial branch
Initialized empty Git repository in /path/to/project/.git/

The exact hint can differ. On this installed Git, the default initial branch is currently master, but the manual says this is subject to change and can be customised with init.defaultBranch. The repository has no commits yet.

Verify the result without changing it:

$ git status --short --branch
## No commits yet on master
$ test -d .git/objects && test -d .git/refs/heads && echo 'repository layout is present'
repository layout is present

3. Set the initial branch explicitly when it matters

git-init-db's synopsis does not expose --initial-branch, even though the current git init command does. If the first branch name is part of your workflow, set init.defaultBranch before running the compatibility command, or just use git init directly:

$ git config --global init.defaultBranch main
$ git init-db /path/to/another-project
Initialized empty Git repository in /path/to/another-project/.git/

This changes your global Git configuration, so treat it as a deliberate user-level setting. To avoid changing global configuration at all, use the modern command with an explicit branch for just this repository:

$ git init --initial-branch=main /path/to/another-project

If you set a global default only for this test, check it with git config --global --get init.defaultBranch and remove it later with git config --global --unset init.defaultBranch. The unset command changes configuration and may report an error if no value exists.

4. Create a bare repository for a server-side Git endpoint

A bare repository has no working tree. It is appropriate as a shared push target, not as a directory where you edit files. Create it in a new, clearly named directory:

$ git init-db --bare /path/to/project.git
Initialized empty Git repository in /path/to/project.git/
$ git --git-dir=/path/to/project.git rev-parse --is-bare-repository
true

Git places HEAD, objects, refs, hooks and configuration directly in the bare directory. Do not run ordinary working-tree commands there or assume a checkout will appear beside it.

5. Keep the Git directory somewhere else

Use --separate-git-dir when the working tree and repository metadata must live in different places:

$ git init-db --separate-git-dir /path/to/git-data /path/to/project
Initialized empty Git repository in /path/to/git-data/
$ cat /path/to/project/.git
gitdir: /path/to/git-data

In this mode, .git is a text file containing the actual repository path. Check both paths before moving either one; a broken path makes the working tree appear not to be a repository at all.

6. Reinitialisation and recovery

Running the command in an existing repository is normally safe: Git does not overwrite existing repository data. It may pick up newly added templates, and --separate-git-dir can move the repository metadata. That does not mean every invocation is harmless. Stop if the path is unexpected, if ownership is wrong, or if a separate Git directory would replace a layout you still need.

A failed initialisation may leave a partial directory. Read the error, inspect the target and check ownership before retrying. If the directory holds valuable data, copy or back it up first. Most failures are path, permission or invalid template-directory problems, not reasons to run the command as root.