How to run Git 1.6.x for Windows from a USB memory

Question

I would like to run Git 1.6.x for Windows from a USB memory stick.

There is a Windows version of Git available at: http://code.google.com/p/msysgit/

Installing and running it from the local harddisk c:\ was absolutely no problem. However, I was not able to find out how it can be run from a USB memory stick. This post suggests that one can just take the binaries from c:\ and copy them to a USB memory stick.

The points I don't understand are:

1. One can set global settings for Git such as one's name and email address: Where are they stored? Somewhere under %userprofile%?
2. Suppose I would just move the binaries to the USB memory stick: Wouldn't Git still look for the global settings on c:\ under %userprofile% instead of my USB drive and is there a path setting (within some Git configuration file, not the Windows path variable) which can be pointed for example to e:\git\settings with e: being my USB drive?

Thank you for any hints.

Answer 1

You could use the portable version from http://code.google.com/p/msysgit/

Answer 2

Your e-mail address, name and many other settings are stored in the global configuration file .gitconfig in your home dir.

git-config

Maybe the -f option helps you for specifing the different location of the config file.

Answer 3

When I went to the msysgit download page today, there was a download link for "PortableGit" that was new as of 22MAR09. Using this version might provide you with more of the control you need. I have not tried it, but the name suggests it's geared more toward USB-stick installations.

Answer 4

I think those are stored in the user part of the local copy of the repository. If they aren't, then you can always override them in the user settings within the .git directory.

Answer 5

I'm not sure, if it's the same application as mentioned, but because Google Code doesn't exist anymore, you may try the Git portable on Sourceforge instead.