Working on git repo without cd into directory

--git-dir=<path>

Set the path to the repository. This can also be controlled by setting the GIT_DIR environment variable. It can be an absolute path or relative path to current working directory.

http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git.html

Note that <path> above means the path to the actual git directory (project_dir/.git) not just the project directory (project_dir).

Starting with git 1.8.5, use the -C option.

git -C "/Users/michael/Development/Projects/opensource/dvsc-backup" status

Otherwise, you have to specify --work-tree as well as --git-dir

git --work-tree="/Users/michael/Development/Projects/opensource/dvsc-backup" --git-dir="/Users/michael/Development/Projects/opensource/dvsc-backup/.git" status