How to clone a git repository using the command line (2024)

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In a scenario where we want to download an existing Git repository to our local computer, we aim to create a clone or duplicate of the Git repository so that we can start working on it whenever convenient. Whether you’re fixing merge conflicts, adding or removing files, or making substantial commits on Git, cloning ensures you have a local copy to work with. In this Answer, we’ll explore how to clone a Git repository using the command line.

The git clone command

Git provides git clone command to clone a repository that is already present on GitHub.

git clone {repository URL}

This command cloned all of the folders, files, commits and branches of the specified repository. You just need to replace {repository URL} with your GitHub repository link.

Cloning a repository using the command line

Now we’ll focus on cloning a repository using a command line. Follow the directions below:

How to clone a git repository using the command line (1)How to clone a git repository using the command line (2)

Click "Code" and copy the URL

  • If we want to clone an empty repository, click the "copy icon" as shown in the given illustration:

How to clone a git repository using the command line (3)How to clone a git repository using the command line (4)

Clone an empty repository

  • Open “Git BashGit Bash is a command-line interface for Git.” and change the current working directory to the location where you want the cloned directory.
  • Type “git clone” in the terminal, paste the URL you copied earlier, and press “enter” to create your local clone.

Hands-on practice

To gain hands-on experience, you can clone any repository using the following terminal. Simply specify the URL of your desired repository in the git clone command. To verify the cloned repository, use the ls command to view the contents of the directory where you cloned it.

Terminal 1

Terminal

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How to clone a git repository using the command line (2024)

FAQs

How to clone git repository command line? ›

Type git clone , and then paste the URL you copied earlier. Press Enter to create your local clone. $ git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPOSITORY > Cloning into `Spoon-Knife`... > remote: Counting objects: 10, done. >

How do I clone an existing git repository? ›

To Git clone a repository navigate to your preferred repository hosting service like GitHub, select the repository you want to clone, copy the repository URL via HTTPS or SSH, type git clone in the command line, paste the URL, and hit enter .

How to make a git repository command line? ›

Start a new git repository
  1. Create a directory to contain the project.
  2. Go into the new directory.
  3. Type git init .
  4. Write some code.
  5. Type git add to add the files (see the typical use page).
  6. Type git commit .

How to git clone on mac terminal? ›

You can right-click the folder in Finder and choose "Copy <the folder name>" to copy the path into clipboard. Then by pressing "Command" and "v" on your keyboard to paste the path into terminal. 5. Type "git clone", and then paste the URL you copied in step 2.

What is the difference between git clone and git pull? ›

Git clone copies all files to the local machine, while git pull only copies the modified files to the local machine. Git clone creates a connection between both repositories, while git pull requires a connection to be made before it can work.

How to clone specific directory from git? ›

First, go to the repository on GitHub and copy the clone URL.
  1. Select a Local Folder. With the URL you can go to a folder where you want to clone the specific files of the repository and digit the follow commands:
  2. Navegate to the cloned empty repo. ...
  3. Set Sparse. ...
  4. Select a Branch. ...
  5. Cloning the specific folder.
Oct 26, 2023

Which command is used to clone an existing repository? ›

git clone is a Git command line utility which is used to target an existing repository and create a clone, or copy of the target repository.

How to run git clone command on windows? ›

How to install Git and clone a repository in Windows? First, install Git from the official website, then open your command prompt, navigate to your desired directory, and use the command "git clone [repository URL]" to clone your repository.

How do I clone a git repository in the same directory? ›

Cloning a Git Repository Using SSH

Replace 'ssh://username@host/path/to/repo.git' with the SSH URL of the repository you want to clone and '/local/destination/folder' with the actual path to the folder where you want to clone the repository on your local machine.

Can you use Git from command line? ›

To use Git on the command line, you will need to download, install, and configure Git on your computer. You can also install GitHub CLI to use GitHub from the command line. For more information, see "About GitHub CLI."

How to clone a git repository to a local folder? ›

Clone a repository with Sourcetree
  1. From the repository, select the Clone button.
  2. In the Clone this repository dialog, select the Clone in Sourcetree button.
  3. If necessary, update the Destination Path or Bookmark Name. The Destination Path is the folder where your clone saves to your local system. ...
  4. Select the Clone button.

How to execute git commands? ›

Assuming you added Git to your command line during installation, you can run any Git command from the command line just by typing git adding a space, and writing the command.

How do I run a git command in Mac terminal? ›

Basic Terminal Navigation
  1. Open up terminal, cmd + space "terminal".
  2. pwd Figure out which directory you are currently in by "Printing the Working Directory".
  3. ls List the directories and files inside the current directory. ...
  4. cd [folder] Go into the folder. ...
  5. open [file] Same as "double-clicking" a file or folder in finder.

How to clone using git Desktop? ›

To clone and open the repository with GitHub Desktop, click Open with GitHub Desktop. Click Choose... and navigate to a local directory where you want to clone the repository. Note: If the repository is configured to use LFS, you will be prompted to initialize Git LFS. Click Clone.

How do you clone a file in Mac terminal? ›

In the Terminal app on your Mac, use the cp command to make a copy of a file. The -R flag causes cp to copy the folder and its contents.

How to clone a git repository with key? ›

To perform a GitHub clone with SSH keys in Git, simply follow these steps:
  1. Create an SSH keypair on your Windows or Linux OS.
  2. Copy the value of the public SSH key to your GitHub account.
  3. Obtain the GitHub SSH URL for the repository to be cloned.
  4. Using Git, clone from GitHub with the SSH URL.
Jan 11, 2022

How to commit using git command? ›

After you've entered a message, save the file and close the editor to create the actual commit.
  1. git commit -a.
  2. git commit -m "commit message"
  3. git commit -am "commit message"
  4. git commit --amend.

How to clone a git repository to VS Code? ›

To clone a repository, run the Git: Clone command in the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P), or select the Clone Repository button in the Source Control view. If you clone from GitHub, VS Code prompts you to authenticate with GitHub. Then, select a repository from the list to clone to your machine.

How do I clone a git repository to a specific branch? ›

In the background, git clone will fetch all the repository's branches and then check out the one we've specified. If we only want to fetch one branch, we can add the flag --single-branch to our git clone command.

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