title: git create remote branch only (without local)
body: <p>I have a need, via automation, to create a new branch on the git remote, but I need to do this without the overhead of first getting a local copy of potentially large repos.</p>
  
  <p>Unless I'm missing something (obvious or subtle), every example I find presumes I want to 'fetch', 'clone' or 'checkout' the repo locally, then make a branch, then push to the origin.</p>
  
  <p>This isn't what I want to do.  I need, from a script that's running on a ubuntu server where I cannot afford the overhead of cloning repos, to simply add a branch to the remote, so others can then pull down that branch and start working.</p>
  
  <p>The use case is, I'm working with an automation framework where we are enforcing best practices by creating feature branches before developers begin working.</p>
  
  <p>Using GitHub or GitLab this is easy via the API.  In some cases where my customers are simply using 'git', I have to do this using the command line and scripting.</p>
  
  <p>I know this may be ambiguous, so please let me know if the question isn't clear.</p>