Unable to push on branch created from "checkout" button

[smashwilson]

We set the branch upstream correctly, but it looks like git (by default) isn't happy about the branch name disagreement:

pr-1596/atom/aw/package-lock-bunp ↑1 ~\src\github
> git push
fatal: The upstream branch of your current branch does not match
the name of your current branch.  To push to the upstream branch
on the remote, use

    git push origin HEAD:aw/package-lock-bunp

To push to the branch of the same name on the remote, use

    git push origin pr-1596/atom/aw/package-lock-bunp

To choose either option permanently, see push.default in 'git help config'.

Using the more explicit HEAD:... form when we push should serve us better, I think.

[ssfrr]

This also just bit me trying to push to a PR branch that I had checked out through the atom-github interface. It was just giving me "permission denied" errors so at first I was checking all my authentication, and also it was in combination with the "allow contributors to edit this PR" option, which added a little bit of complexity.

In the end the right answer was to do git push remotename HEAD:branchname. It would be super slick if this gets fixed for updating PRs as well as my own branches. It's definitely a really nice workflow.

[smashwilson]

In the end the right answer was to do git push remotename HEAD:branchname.

Now that I think about this, I'm not sure if this is generally true. I think there are a few "right things" to do, depending on the situation:

• If the PR's head is a branch you created on the base repository, it should push to that branch on the base repository.
• If the PR's head is a branch you created on a fork you own, it should push to that branch on your fork.
• If the PR's head is a branch someone else created on the base repository, it should push to that branch on the base repository.
• If the PR's head is a branch someone else created from their own fork but you have push rights to their fork, it should push to that branch in their fork.
• If the PR's head is a branch someone else created from their own fork but you have push rights on the base repository and "allow edits from maintainers" is checked on the PR, it should push to the branch in their fork.
• If the PR's head is a branch someone else created from their own fork and you either do not have push rights to the base repository or "allow edits from maintainers" is unchecked, it should push to a new branch on your own fork.

Ultimately I think I'm going to need to attempt to push to a sequence of places and gracefully catch authentication errors. The trick will be to do this without prompting for credentials over and over again. 🤔

[vanessayuenn]

this has been resolved by #1708.