How to pull remote branch from somebody else's repo
git remote add coworker git://path/to/coworkers/repo.git
git fetch coworker
git checkout --track coworker/foo
This will setup a local branch foo, tracking the remote branch coworker/foo. So when your co-worker has made some changes, you can easily pull them:
git checkout foo
git pull
Response to comments:
Cool :) And if I'd like to make my own changes to that branch, should I create a second local branch "bar" from "foo" and work there instead of directly on my "foo"?
You don't need to create a new branch, even though I recommend it. You might as well commit directly to foo and have your co-worker pull your branch. But that branch already exists and your branch foo need to be setup as an upstream branch to it:
git branch --set-upstream foo colin/foo
assuming colin is your repository (a remote to your co-workers repository) defined in similar way:
git remote add colin git://path/to/colins/repo.git
No, you don't need to add them as a remote. That would be clumbersome and a pain to do each time.
Grabbing their commits:
git fetch [email protected]:theirusername/reponame.git theirbranch:ournameforbranch
This creates a local branch named ournameforbranch which is exactly the same as what theirbranch was for them. For the question example, the last argument would be foo:foo.
Note :ournameforbranch part can be further left off if thinking up a name that doesn't conflict with one of your own branches is bothersome. In that case, a reference called FETCH_HEAD is available. You can git log FETCH_HEAD to see their commits then do things like cherry-picked to cherry pick their commits.
Pushing it back to them:
Oftentimes, you want to fix something of theirs and push it right back. That's possible too:
git fetch [email protected]:theirusername/reponame.git theirbranch
git checkout FETCH_HEAD
# fix fix fix
git push [email protected]:theirusername/reponame.git HEAD:theirbranch
If working in detached state worries you, by all means create a branch using :ournameforbranch and replace FETCH_HEAD and HEAD above with ournameforbranch.
If antak's answer:
git fetch [email protected]:<THEIR USERNAME>/<REPO>.git <THEIR BRANCH>:<OUR NAME FOR BRANCH>
gives you:
Permission denied (publickey).
fatal: Could not read from remote repository.
Please make sure you have the correct access rights
and the repository exists.
Then (following Przemek D's advice) use
git fetch https://github.com/<THEIR USERNAME>/<REPO>.git <THEIR BRANCH>:<OUR NAME FOR BRANCH>