Github Deploy failed and erased my local repo

[markgoho]

Please provide us with the following information:

OS?

Windows 10

Versions.

angular-cli: 1.0.0-beta.26
node: 7.4.0

Repro steps.

I ran the github-pages deploy command from the windows power shell.

The log given by the failure.

[master ≡]> ng github-pages:deploy -m "Trying to deploy using angular cli"
Hash: 14405ceffd8e1bebe48d
Time: 24975ms
chunk {0} main.bundle.js, main.bundle.map (main) 3.03 MB {2} [initial] [rendered]
chunk {1} styles.bundle.css, styles.bundle.map, styles.bundle.map (styles) 1.69 kB {2} [initial] [rendered]
chunk {2} inline.bundle.js, inline.bundle.map (inline) 0 bytes [entry] [rendered]
Command failed: git clean -f -d
warning: failed to remove debug.log
warning: failed to remove mockup/node_modules/node-sass/vendor/win32-x64-51/binding.node
warning: failed to remove src/app/categories
warning: failed to remove src/app/posts

There was a permissions error during git file operations, please close any open project files/folders and try again.
You might also need to return to the master branch manually. You might also need to return to the initial branch manually.

Mention any other details that might be useful.

This command removed all existing files from my project and appears to have like re-initialized the whole repo. I'm not a Git power user, so this might have something to do with branches, but I basically have to re-clone my repo from Github because nothing is left.

[tobymurray]

erased my entire repo

I basically have to re-clone my repo from Github because nothing is left

I think your title is a little bit misleading - if anything, it appears you lost a copy (your local copy) of your repo. The fact that you were able to re-clone it means that at least the remote repository is still there, and was not erased.

From my understanding, deploying to GitHub Pages happens by creating a gh-pages branch. It appears that the branch is not off of an existing branch, as most branches are in Git, but an "orphan" - almost like a brand new repository inside your existing repository (but also not a lot like that...). You can read the generally excellent Git documentation on orphan branches here.

As you noted, it sounds like perhaps the CLI errored out while it was on the gh-pages branch, which wouldn't have any of your work on it. Presumably you could just switch back to your regular branch with something like git checkout develop, and you would see your work again. I would be extremely surprised if the CLI somehow managed to delete your local repository entirely.

As a side note, I personally feel that a workable understanding of Git (or other VCS) is one of the most fundamental skills a developer can have - I think it's definitely worth investing some time into understanding the basics.

[tobymurray]

@markgoho - while it looks like there is a bug in the GitHub pages deploy, did you confirm that your local repo was actually erased? You weren't just on a different (and empty) gh-pages branch?

[markgoho]

Yes, in Windows Explorer most of the folders were non-existent and those that were left were totally empty.

[tobymurray]

To be clear, that's exactly what you would expect to see if you were on the gh-pages branch and your repo was not "deleted". git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD would show you which branch you're currently on. I don't know, but to me it seems extremely likely that you were on a different branch than you were expecting and not that the Angular CLI had deleted your local repo.

[filipesilva]

@tobymurray's explanation makes sense to me. I think you just got left in the wrong branch due to the permissions error. If your main branch is master, do git checkout master and all your work will still be there.

Closed via #4385.

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