create new git repository from a branch

how to copy a git branch to its own git repository as master branch

02. Jun 2020

The following steps create a new git repository with a master branch from a branch of a source repository.

The steps refer to a source repository with the name source-clone and a source branch with the name source-branch. After finishing the steps there is a new-clone clone from the new repository new-bare-repo with a master branch including the full history.

create new repository folder & init git in new repository
```
> mkdir new-bare-repo
> git --bare init new-bare-repo
```
--bare creates a repository without a workspace, otherwise (without --bare) the push in the next step would fail with
```
"error: refusing to update checked out branch: refs/heads/master"
```

copy source branch to master as master to new repository

> cd source-clone
> git push ../new-bare-repo source-branch:master
> cd ..

clone from the new bare repository
```
 > git clone ./new-bare-repo new-clone
```

push to github

 > cd ./new-clone
 > git remote add origin https://github.com/<user>/<remote-repo>.git
 > git push -u origin master

cleanup

now that the new repository is on github the new-bare-repo is no longer needed.