[gentoo-user] Status of a GIT repository

[Helmut Jarausch]

Hi,
I have no experience with GIT.

I'd like to determine if a GIT repository in Gentoo is up-to-date.
Normally, a GIT folder has a '.git' subfolder. Using 'git status' in  
such a GIT folder works fine.

But the subfolders in /usr/portage/distfiles/git3-src don't contain a  
'.git' subfolder.
A plain 'git status' in such a subfolder doesn't work - I get "fatal:  
This operation must be run in a work tree".

Is there a means to determine the status of a Gentoo-GIT-folder?

Background: I'd like to check if anything has changed in the GIT  
repository before I run an 'emerge -u' for that.

Many thanks for a hint,
Helmut