6 git-clone - Clone a repository into a new directory
12 'git clone' [--template=<template_directory>]
13 [-l] [-s] [--no-hardlinks] [-q] [-n] [--bare] [--mirror]
14 [-o <name>] [-b <name>] [-u <upload-pack>] [--reference <repository>]
15 [--separate-git-dir <git dir>]
16 [--depth <depth>] [--[no-]single-branch]
17 [--recursive|--recurse-submodules] [--] <repository>
23 Clones a repository into a newly created directory, creates
24 remote-tracking branches for each branch in the cloned repository
25 (visible using `git branch -r`), and creates and checks out an
26 initial branch that is forked from the cloned repository's
27 currently active branch.
29 After the clone, a plain `git fetch` without arguments will update
30 all the remote-tracking branches, and a `git pull` without
31 arguments will in addition merge the remote master branch into the
32 current master branch, if any.
34 This default configuration is achieved by creating references to
35 the remote branch heads under `refs/remotes/origin` and
36 by initializing `remote.origin.url` and `remote.origin.fetch`
37 configuration variables.
44 When the repository to clone from is on a local machine,
45 this flag bypasses the normal "git aware" transport
46 mechanism and clones the repository by making a copy of
47 HEAD and everything under objects and refs directories.
48 The files under `.git/objects/` directory are hardlinked
49 to save space when possible. This is now the default when
50 the source repository is specified with `/path/to/repo`
51 syntax, so it essentially is a no-op option. To force
52 copying instead of hardlinking (which may be desirable
53 if you are trying to make a back-up of your repository),
54 but still avoid the usual "git aware" transport
55 mechanism, `--no-hardlinks` can be used.
58 Optimize the cloning process from a repository on a
59 local filesystem by copying files under `.git/objects`
64 When the repository to clone is on the local machine,
65 instead of using hard links, automatically setup
66 `.git/objects/info/alternates` to share the objects
67 with the source repository. The resulting repository
68 starts out without any object of its own.
70 *NOTE*: this is a possibly dangerous operation; do *not* use
71 it unless you understand what it does. If you clone your
72 repository using this option and then delete branches (or use any
73 other git command that makes any existing commit unreferenced) in the
74 source repository, some objects may become unreferenced (or dangling).
75 These objects may be removed by normal git operations (such as `git commit`)
76 which automatically call `git gc --auto`. (See linkgit:git-gc[1].)
77 If these objects are removed and were referenced by the cloned repository,
78 then the cloned repository will become corrupt.
80 Note that running `git repack` without the `-l` option in a repository
81 cloned with `-s` will copy objects from the source repository into a pack
82 in the cloned repository, removing the disk space savings of `clone -s`.
83 It is safe, however, to run `git gc`, which uses the `-l` option by
86 If you want to break the dependency of a repository cloned with `-s` on
87 its source repository, you can simply run `git repack -a` to copy all
88 objects from the source repository into a pack in the cloned repository.
90 --reference <repository>::
91 If the reference repository is on the local machine,
92 automatically setup `.git/objects/info/alternates` to
93 obtain objects from the reference repository. Using
94 an already existing repository as an alternate will
95 require fewer objects to be copied from the repository
96 being cloned, reducing network and local storage costs.
98 *NOTE*: see the NOTE for the `--shared` option.
102 Operate quietly. Progress is not reported to the standard
103 error stream. This flag is also passed to the `rsync'
108 Run verbosely. Does not affect the reporting of progress status
109 to the standard error stream.
112 Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
113 by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
114 is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
115 standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
119 No checkout of HEAD is performed after the clone is complete.
122 Make a 'bare' GIT repository. That is, instead of
123 creating `<directory>` and placing the administrative
124 files in `<directory>/.git`, make the `<directory>`
125 itself the `$GIT_DIR`. This obviously implies the `-n`
126 because there is nowhere to check out the working tree.
127 Also the branch heads at the remote are copied directly
128 to corresponding local branch heads, without mapping
129 them to `refs/remotes/origin/`. When this option is
130 used, neither remote-tracking branches nor the related
131 configuration variables are created.
134 Set up a mirror of the source repository. This implies `--bare`.
135 Compared to `--bare`, `--mirror` not only maps local branches of the
136 source to local branches of the target, it maps all refs (including
137 remote-tracking branches, notes etc.) and sets up a refspec configuration such
138 that all these refs are overwritten by a `git remote update` in the
143 Instead of using the remote name `origin` to keep track
144 of the upstream repository, use `<name>`.
148 Instead of pointing the newly created HEAD to the branch pointed
149 to by the cloned repository's HEAD, point to `<name>` branch
150 instead. In a non-bare repository, this is the branch that will
153 --upload-pack <upload-pack>::
155 When given, and the repository to clone from is accessed
156 via ssh, this specifies a non-default path for the command
157 run on the other end.
159 --template=<template_directory>::
160 Specify the directory from which templates will be used;
161 (See the "TEMPLATE DIRECTORY" section of linkgit:git-init[1].)
163 --config <key>=<value>::
165 Set a configuration variable in the newly-created repository;
166 this takes effect immediately after the repository is
167 initialized, but before the remote history is fetched or any
168 files checked out. The key is in the same format as expected by
169 linkgit:git-config[1] (e.g., `core.eol=true`). If multiple
170 values are given for the same key, each value will be written to
171 the config file. This makes it safe, for example, to add
172 additional fetch refspecs to the origin remote.
175 Create a 'shallow' clone with a history truncated to the
176 specified number of revisions. A shallow repository has a
177 number of limitations (you cannot clone or fetch from
178 it, nor push from nor into it), but is adequate if you
179 are only interested in the recent history of a large project
180 with a long history, and would want to send in fixes
184 Clone only the history leading to the tip of a single branch,
185 either specified by the `--branch` option or the primary
186 branch remote's `HEAD` points at. When creating a shallow
187 clone with the `--depth` option, this is the default, unless
188 `--no-single-branch` is given to fetch the histories near the
189 tips of all branches.
192 --recurse-submodules::
193 After the clone is created, initialize all submodules within,
194 using their default settings. This is equivalent to running
195 `git submodule update --init --recursive` immediately after
196 the clone is finished. This option is ignored if the cloned
197 repository does not have a worktree/checkout (i.e. if any of
198 `--no-checkout`/`-n`, `--bare`, or `--mirror` is given)
200 --separate-git-dir=<git dir>::
201 Instead of placing the cloned repository where it is supposed
202 to be, place the cloned repository at the specified directory,
203 then make a filesytem-agnostic git symbolic link to there.
204 The result is git repository can be separated from working
209 The (possibly remote) repository to clone from. See the
210 <<URLS,URLS>> section below for more information on specifying
214 The name of a new directory to clone into. The "humanish"
215 part of the source repository is used if no directory is
216 explicitly given (`repo` for `/path/to/repo.git` and `foo`
217 for `host.xz:foo/.git`). Cloning into an existing directory
218 is only allowed if the directory is empty.
226 * Clone from upstream:
229 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
235 * Make a local clone that borrows from the current directory, without checking things out:
238 $ git clone -l -s -n . ../copy
244 * Clone from upstream while borrowing from an existing local directory:
247 $ git clone --reference my2.6 \
248 git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.7 \
254 * Create a bare repository to publish your changes to the public:
257 $ git clone --bare -l /home/proj/.git /pub/scm/proj.git
261 * Create a repository on the kernel.org machine that borrows from Linus:
264 $ git clone --bare -l -s /pub/scm/.../torvalds/linux-2.6.git \
265 /pub/scm/.../me/subsys-2.6.git
270 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite