git clone

Download a repository from a server with its whole history

What it does

git clone creates a folder named after the repository, downloads every commit and branch into it and switches to the main branch. The server is added as a remote called origin right away, so git pull and git push work with no setup.

Addresses come in two kinds: HTTPS (https://github.com/…) and SSH (git@github.com:…). SSH is handier once you have an SSH key set up: no password or token to type. A last argument names your own folder instead of the repository name.

Syntax

git clone <address>
git clone <address> <folder>

Examples

• Download the owner/shop repository from GitHub

  git clone https://github.com/owner/shop.git

  same as: git clone https://github.com/owner/shop

  • clone — copy a repository with its whole history
  • https://github.com/owner/shop.git — repository address

Related commands

• git init — Create a new repository in the current folder
• git remote — List and add remote repositories
• git pull — Download changes from the server and merge them into the current branch

Practise · All commands