title: Compatibility issues between git 1.8 client and older git server
body: <p>I'm using a remote git hosting service (Svnrepository.com).  I'm able to access the git repositories successfully while using a git 1.7.x as the client, but as soon as I upgrade the client to git 1.8.x, I am no longer able to push: <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/q/14488077/781723">the push hangs</a>.  The hosting service's support claims that this is because they are using an older git server that does not support version 1.8.</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>How do I use git 1.8 as a client, with an older git server?</li>
  <li>Is there a workaround?</li>
  <li>Does anyone know what the exact incompatibility is?</li>
  <li>Does the statement from the support even sound plausible?
  For some reason I had thought that git had excellent backward/forward compatibility and there was no reason to fear that upgrading would break git</li>
  <li>Is there some known incompatibility introduced in the 1.7->1.8 transition that would cause this?</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>By request, here is a trace with <code>GIT_TRACE=1</code>.  It looks like it hangs while running <code>git-http-push</code>:</p>
  
  <pre><code>$ GIT_TRACE=1 git push -v
  trace: built-in: git 'push' '-v'
  Pushing to https://secure2.svnrepository.com/redacted/redacted/
  trace: run_command: 'git-remote-https' 'origin' 'https://secure2.svnrepository.com/redacted/redacted/'
  trace: run_command: 'http-push' '--helper-status' '--verbose' 'https://secure2.svnrepository.com/redacted/redacted/' 'refs/heads/master:refs/heads/master'
  trace: exec: 'git' 'http-push' '--helper-status' '--verbose' 'https://secure2.svnrepository.com/redacted/redacted/' 'refs/heads/master:refs/heads/master'
  trace: exec: 'git-http-push' '--helper-status' '--verbose' 'https://secure2.svnrepository.com/redacted/redacted/' 'refs/heads/master:refs/heads/master'
  trace: run_command: 'git-http-push' '--helper-status' '--verbose' 'https://secure2.svnrepository.com/redacted/redacted/' 'refs/heads/master:refs/heads/master'
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>It hangs after the last line of output.  (If you prefer, you can also <a href="https://gist.github.com/anonymous/5783653" rel="nofollow noreferrer">look at a trace</a> where I've set both <code>GIT_TRACE=1</code> and <code>GIT_CURL_VERBOSE=1</code>.)</p>