Why does git tag local create two tags on remote after push?

Question

I am creating a git branch B off branch A.

$git checkout A
$git checkout -b B

I change some files in branch B, then

$git add <files>
$git commit -m "a message"

Then I create a tag while branch B is active

$git tag -a <tag_name>

I am still on local.

I then checkout branch A

$git checkout A

merge branch B into A

$git merge B

I push branch A

$git push origin A

then I push tags, while I am still in branch A

$git push origin tag <tag_name>

now if I list tags on remote, I see two tags by doing:

$git ls-remote --tags

<tag_name>
<tag_name>^{}

with ^{} appended to a second entry

Can someone explain what the reasons are here?

Why do I see two tags on remote?

On local, there is just one

$git tag -l
<tag_name>

---

Is the order I am doing this common? Or a different order suggested? I really just want a tag on Branch B (and all the files there).

Answer 1

now if I list tags on remote, I see two tags by doing:

$git ls-remote --tags

<tag_name>
<tag_name>^{}

You're not seeing two tags. That's just how git ls-remote displays one tag, provided that this one tag is an annotated tag. The first output line shows you the tag itself, and the hash ID of the underlying annotated tag object. The second output line shows you the tag with ^{} appended, and the hash ID of the target object (the commit you tagged).

The reason you see both of these is that the Git protocols expose both hash IDs for git fetch to work efficiently. The git ls-remote command just uses what is already there for git fetch, and hence shows this as well.

If you create a lightweight tag, the output from git ls-remote will have only one line, but lightweight tags are generally discouraged for distribution, as they can't carry any additional information such as a PGP signature.