I use a separate work folder. Like this: git --git-dir=/foo/bar.git --work-tree=/foo/bar.work init git --git-dir=/foo/bar.git config receive.denyCurrentB

I use a separate work folder. Like this: git --git-dir=/foo/bar.git --work-tree=/foo/bar.work init git --git-dir=/foo/bar.git config receive.denyCurrentBranch ignore Then create (and chmod +x): /foo/bar.git/hooks/post-update #!/bin/sh work_tree=/foo/bar.work GIT_WORK_TREE=$work_tree git checkout -f Then you just create a symlink to the work tree for your website root, or put the work tree there, or whatever, depending on preference. Can't say this is perfect, but it works pretty well for smaller projects.