How to Manage Remote Repositories in Git

A remote repository is a version of your project hosted on a server — typically on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or similar platforms. The git remote command manages the connections between your local repository and those remotes.

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List Remote Connections

To see which remotes are currently connected to your local repository, along with their URLs:

$ git remote -v
origin  https://test@github.com/test/example.git (fetch)
origin  https://test@github.com/test/example.git (push)

Add a Remote

To connect a new remote repository, provide a shortname and its URL. The conventional shortname for a repository's primary remote is origin:

$ git remote add origin https://github.com/gittower/example.git

For additional remotes — for example a separate production server — use any shortname you like:

$ git remote add production https://test@github.com/test/example.git

Remove a Remote

To disconnect a remote from your local repository. This only removes the connection — the actual remote repository is not affected:

$ git remote remove production

Rename a Remote

To rename an existing remote connection — for example, renaming origin to upstream when you want to distinguish between your fork and the original repository:

$ git remote rename origin upstream