Is "git ls-remote" a read-only operation?

Question

We are planning to use git ls-remote <repository> [<refs>…] without any additional parameters concurrently to virtually any other Git operation. I'm looking for a confirmation that ls-remote is read-only, so it can't break any other operation.

Answer 1

Yes, it is a read-only operation.

Nothing in builtin/ls-remote.c suggests any operation modifying the local repo.

It sets as transport the TRANS_OPT_UPLOADPACK, which is used also in two other git commands (which don't modify the remote repo):

• git clone (builtin/clone.c:919) and

• git fetch (builtin/fetch.c:807)

  /* The program to use on the remote side to send a pack */
  #define TRANS_OPT_UPLOADPACK "uploadpack"
  

It is asking the remote repo to send packs, nothing more.