Use a Local Git Bare Repo to Separate Dev and Test Environments

In full-stack work, a common problem is how to isolate dev and test environments. Many people host on GitHub or GitLab, but private projects may not be suitable for public hosting.

Git is distributed. You can set up a local bare repo as a remote to move code from dev -> test in one machine.

What is a bare repository?

  • A normal repo (git init) has a working tree + .git metadata and can be edited directly.
  • A bare repo (git init --bare) has only Git data, no working tree. It is usually used as a remote.

In short:

  • Dev repo: where you write code
  • Bare repo: remote sync point with full history
  • Test repo: clone from bare repo to simulate deployment

Step 1: Create the bare repo

Create a bare repo under a local directory (e.g., ~/.repos):

mkdir -p ~/.repos
cd ~/.repos
git init --bare scrapy.git

Now ~/.repos/scrapy.git is your local remote.

Step 2: Add the local remote in your dev repo

Assume your dev repo is ~/scrapy:

cd ~/scrapy
git remote add local ~/.repos/scrapy.git

Check:

git remote -v

Expected:

local   /home/gong/.repos/scrapy.git (fetch)
local   /home/gong/.repos/scrapy.git (push)

Step 3: Push to the local remote

Push main:

git push local main

Your bare repo now contains all commits.

Step 4: Clone in the test environment

Assume your test environment is ~/test-env:

cd ~/test-env
git clone ~/.repos/scrapy.git

You now have a clean copy for testing without affecting dev.

Note on HEAD warning

Sometimes you see:

warning: remote HEAD refers to nonexistent ref, unable to checkout

This happens because a newly created bare repo has no default HEAD. Set it:

cd ~/.repos/scrapy.git
git symbolic-ref HEAD refs/heads/main

Then clone again.

Step 5: Sync workflow

  • In dev (~/scrapy):

    git add .
git commit -m "feat: finish feature"
git push local main

  • In test (~/test-env/scrapy):

    git pull

Now you can sync dev -> test easily on one machine.

Summary

If you cannot push to GitHub/GitLab, a local bare repo can separate dev and test:

  • no external platform required
  • dev and test isolated
  • full Git history preserved

If the project grows, consider a private Git service (Gitea/GitLab CE) or Docker deployment.