Installing Git-TFS without Git itself

Question

Currently, the only way to install the Git-TFS bridge is through Chocolatey. When I tried it, however, it appears to install Git (for Windows) along with the actual Git-TFS package. I already have Git installed on my work machine, so I don't need it to modify/remove what's already there.

Is there a way to force Chocolatey not to modify my current Git install and just put in the Git-TFS package? If there is, how do I configure it to use with my current Git install?

Nadenenader

It sounds like we need a switch for ignore dependencies... github.com/chocolatey/chocolatey/issues/131 – Covarrubias

Answer 1

I can't speak for other git clients, but if you're using the git-bash shell, you can download the source for git-tfs from github, compile it, and put it anywhere on your system and add that location to your path environment variable. The shell will find git-tfs and hook it in.

Gregorio

I just downloaded the Git-TFS files and put its location in my $PATH. It worked! (Not exactly the answer I was looking for, but this allows me to do away with Chocolatey.) – Nadenenader

Download link for v0.20.0 github.com/git-tfs/git-tfs/releases/download/v0.20.0/… from git-tfs.com (latest at time of writing) – Undernourished

Using bash specifically is what I had to do...the docs say to use a command prompt, but the windows cmd.exe didn't work - had to use bash. Thanks! – Hipster

Answer 2

The easiest way would be to let the bridge install Git, while keeping your Git installation in a custom directory, which you can easily do with the Portable application for official Git for Windows (ie a seup you can simply uncompress anywhere you like).

From there, using your git installation is mainly about catching your global config settings, which are in %HOME%/.gitconfig. So make sure you have HOME defined, and bot git (yours and the one installed by the bridge) will use those.

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Now if you don't need a portable installation (or a full recompilation like edwinf suggests in his answer), then ferventcoder (member of the chocolatey organization) suggests in the comment to look at/comment on issue 131:

Add a switch for ignoring dependencies on install (Something like -ignoredependencies)

Decree

I guess that means a "no." :) If there's a way to use the Git-TFS files from Github directly with Git (after unzipping them somewhere), that would be a better workaround. Thanks! – Nadenenader

@Nadenenader true, but I didn't find the need for one git to use another, except for the global settings. So I usually leave the different Git installations alone. – Decree

Adding a switch to ignore dependencies will probably work best... github.com/chocolatey/chocolatey/issues/131 – Covarrubias

@Covarrubias True. I have included your comment in the answer for more visibility. – Decree

Answer 3

You could download git-tfs.

No need to use chocolatey! (But chocolatey is a very good tool ;))

Hawn

Unfortunately this seems to an option which will only work until 11-feb-2013 - see github.com/blog/1302-goodbye-uploads – Transcendental

It's gone from the github UI but the link at the top of git-tfs.com still works, which is pointing here -> github.com/git-tfs/git-tfs/releases/download/v0.20.0/… (v0.20.0, latest at time of writing) Hurrah. – Undernourished

Yes. "Upload" has been deprecated by GitHub just to be replaced by "Release". We know use that to release git-tfs binaries...(see my link in my answer). And Chocolatey is just a wrapper toward this zip file. – Hawn

Answer 4

Just download and extract the latest build, and put that directory in your PATH.

Crystallo