Create a git repository on a USB drive

I am sure many of you would need this solution. When you use git, you often deal a remote repository placed somewhere on the network. However, it can be you want to use a USB memory stick or an external hard drive as a remote git repository. Here how to create it.

First of all, I suggest you to format and encrypt the USB stick or hard drive. This step is not mandatory, but it keeps your code secure from unfriendly people. Additionally, if you loose your memory stick or hard drive, nobody has access to your code. Use Disk Utility to erase and encrypt the memory stick.

Once you have done that, open the Terminal.app and create a directory in the memory stick or hard drive. Follow these commands:

» mkdir /path/to/usb/repository.git

» cd /path/to/usb/repository.git

» git init —bare

The last command creates a bare git repository. Now, go to your local project directory in your computer and do the following (I suppose you already created a local git repo and did the first commit):

» git remote add usb file:///path/to/usb/repository.git

In this way, you created an alias (usb) to the remote repository path. 

Finally, launch Xcode and choose File -> Source Control… -> Push. The project is now pushed to your memory stick.

You can now work as you had a remote repository. Just push and pull as you normally do with the network repository. If you need to move the project to a different computer, well, it is really easy: load the usb drive in the new computer and then, just clone the repository.git directory wherever you prefer.