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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-23T14:37:19+00:00

After getting past a few hurdles learning Git, I came across a new challenge:

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After getting past a few hurdles learning Git, I came across a new challenge: Renaming a directory (locally, in the working directory).

When I type git status, it lists all the files in the old directory name (that exist with the same exact filenames in the new directory) as deleted and the new directory name as “untracked”.

Is there a way to tell Git that “it’s actually the same directory, just a different name”?

So that all the files will be listed by git status as modified only?

To exemplify the problem, here is the output I receive from git status when I rename an entire directory:

git status
# On branch master
# Changes not staged for commit:
#   (use "git add/rm <file>..." to update what will be committed)
#   (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
#
#   deleted:    old-dir-name/file1
#   deleted:    old-dir-name/file2
#   deleted:    old-dir-name/file3
#
# Untracked files:
#   (use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
#
#   new-dir-name/
no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")
~/sb/ws>
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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    All answers here were very helpful on the way to the actual solution for the particular scenario I was facing. I am providing what worked for me in the form of actual steps, hopefully helping others encountering the same challenge:

    1. git mv <old-dir-name>
      <new-dir-name>
    2. git status (verify that all files
      marked renamed, not “deleted”)
    3. git commit -a -m "git mv
      <old-dir-name> <new-dir-name>"
      (this is a “fake” commit, to prepare
      for the real rename in the next
      steps)
    4. git branch
      git_mv_20110708_1500_DO_NOT_USE
      (“fake” branch with timestamp
      reminding that we only did this as a
      workaround)
    5. /bin/rm -Rf <new-dir-name>
    6. cp -Rp .../<new-dir-name> . (copy
      over the actual folder with the
      renamed name)
    7. git status (most modified files
      will now be marked correctly as
      modified, not “deleted”. Files that have been renamed will be
      marked as deleted and added,
      despite having the same content! — repeated steps 1-7 for those files if rename tracking is needed for them too)
    8. git add <untracked files>
    9. git commit -a -m "finally renamed
      this folder"
    10. git branch FOLDER_RENAMED 🙂

    P.S. gitk loves this, but Emacs is still confused with the renames. 🙁

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