Tips and tricks

Have a External .git Folder outside your main directory

Posted on May 22 2025 / in WordPress

If you want an external .git directory you can create one:

mkdir {{GIT_TARGET_FOLDER}}/.git

If you need it to be ignored by Dropbox:

xattr -w com.dropbox.ignored 1 {{GIT_TARGET_FOLDER}}/.git
xattr -w 'com.apple.fileprovider.ignore#P' 1 {{GIT_TARGET_FOLDER}}/.git

Initialize .git

git --git-dir={{GIT_TARGET_FOLDER}}/.git \
    --work-tree={{REPO_FOLDER}} \
    init

Add a alias in .zshrc or bash profile:

alias gitwpdzsap='git --git-dir={{GIT_TARGET_FOLDER}}/.git --work-tree={{REPO_FOLDER}}'

Then you can use it as

gitwpdzsap add -A

If you need it for PhpStorm IntelliJ to detect it ,

cd {{REPO_FOLDER}}
echo "gitdir: {{GIT_TARGET_FOLDER}}/.git" > .git