Git Push Rejected Right After Amended Commit

September 18, 2012

Problem Scenario

Here, how I get myself in it.

git push commits to remote repository like github.
git commit --amend the pushed commit.
git push now rejected.

Error Message

$ git push  
To trgoofi.github.com.git ! [rejected] master -> master (non-fast-forward)  
error: failed to push some refs to 'git@github.com:trgoofi/trgoofi.github.com.git'
To prevent you from losing history, non-fast-forward updates were rejected
Merge the remote changes (e.g. 'git pull') before pushing again.  See the
'Note about fast-forwards' section of 'git push --help' for details.

Commit History Diagram

            remote                                    P  <-- remote
           /                                         /
--O--O--P <               after amended        --O--O
           \                                         \
            local                                     P' <-- local

Now you know exactly what happened between remote repository and local repository. After you amended a commit entry which not the same as the remote commit entry. In this way the remote repository has a commit entry which you don’t have in your local repository. That’s why you got rejected because of git could not do a fast-forwards update.

Solutions

git push -f to override the remote repository. This will lose commit histories. Not Recommend.
git pull and solve conflicts then git push.

Here a thread show you how to recover your repository after you do git push -f.