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 (this is untrue when "--single-branch"
35 This default configuration is achieved by creating references to
36 the remote branch heads under `refs/remotes/origin` and
37 by initializing `remote.origin.url` and `remote.origin.fetch`
38 configuration variables.
45 When the repository to clone from is on a local machine,
46 this flag bypasses the normal "git aware" transport
47 mechanism and clones the repository by making a copy of
48 HEAD and everything under objects and refs directories.
49 The files under `.git/objects/` directory are hardlinked
50 to save space when possible.
52 If the repository is specified as a local path (e.g., `/path/to/repo`),
53 this is the default, and --local is essentially a no-op. If the
54 repository is specified as a URL, then this flag is ignored (and we
55 never use the local optimizations). Specifying `--no-local` will
56 override the default when `/path/to/repo` is given, using the regular
57 git transport instead.
59 To force copying instead of hardlinking (which may be desirable if you
60 are trying to make a back-up of your repository), but still avoid the
61 usual "git aware" transport mechanism, `--no-hardlinks` can be used.
64 Optimize the cloning process from a repository on a
65 local filesystem by copying files under `.git/objects`
70 When the repository to clone is on the local machine,
71 instead of using hard links, automatically setup
72 `.git/objects/info/alternates` to share the objects
73 with the source repository. The resulting repository
74 starts out without any object of its own.
76 *NOTE*: this is a possibly dangerous operation; do *not* use
77 it unless you understand what it does. If you clone your
78 repository using this option and then delete branches (or use any
79 other git command that makes any existing commit unreferenced) in the
80 source repository, some objects may become unreferenced (or dangling).
81 These objects may be removed by normal git operations (such as `git commit`)
82 which automatically call `git gc --auto`. (See linkgit:git-gc[1].)
83 If these objects are removed and were referenced by the cloned repository,
84 then the cloned repository will become corrupt.
86 Note that running `git repack` without the `-l` option in a repository
87 cloned with `-s` will copy objects from the source repository into a pack
88 in the cloned repository, removing the disk space savings of `clone -s`.
89 It is safe, however, to run `git gc`, which uses the `-l` option by
92 If you want to break the dependency of a repository cloned with `-s` on
93 its source repository, you can simply run `git repack -a` to copy all
94 objects from the source repository into a pack in the cloned repository.
96 --reference <repository>::
97 If the reference repository is on the local machine,
98 automatically setup `.git/objects/info/alternates` to
99 obtain objects from the reference repository. Using
100 an already existing repository as an alternate will
101 require fewer objects to be copied from the repository
102 being cloned, reducing network and local storage costs.
104 *NOTE*: see the NOTE for the `--shared` option.
108 Operate quietly. Progress is not reported to the standard
109 error stream. This flag is also passed to the `rsync'
114 Run verbosely. Does not affect the reporting of progress status
115 to the standard error stream.
118 Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
119 by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
120 is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
121 standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
125 No checkout of HEAD is performed after the clone is complete.
128 Make a 'bare' GIT repository. That is, instead of
129 creating `<directory>` and placing the administrative
130 files in `<directory>/.git`, make the `<directory>`
131 itself the `$GIT_DIR`. This obviously implies the `-n`
132 because there is nowhere to check out the working tree.
133 Also the branch heads at the remote are copied directly
134 to corresponding local branch heads, without mapping
135 them to `refs/remotes/origin/`. When this option is
136 used, neither remote-tracking branches nor the related
137 configuration variables are created.
140 Set up a mirror of the source repository. This implies `--bare`.
141 Compared to `--bare`, `--mirror` not only maps local branches of the
142 source to local branches of the target, it maps all refs (including
143 remote-tracking branches, notes etc.) and sets up a refspec configuration such
144 that all these refs are overwritten by a `git remote update` in the
149 Instead of using the remote name `origin` to keep track
150 of the upstream repository, use `<name>`.
154 Instead of pointing the newly created HEAD to the branch pointed
155 to by the cloned repository's HEAD, point to `<name>` branch
156 instead. In a non-bare repository, this is the branch that will
158 `--branch` can also take tags and detaches the HEAD at that commit
159 in the resulting repository.
161 --upload-pack <upload-pack>::
163 When given, and the repository to clone from is accessed
164 via ssh, this specifies a non-default path for the command
165 run on the other end.
167 --template=<template_directory>::
168 Specify the directory from which templates will be used;
169 (See the "TEMPLATE DIRECTORY" section of linkgit:git-init[1].)
171 --config <key>=<value>::
173 Set a configuration variable in the newly-created repository;
174 this takes effect immediately after the repository is
175 initialized, but before the remote history is fetched or any
176 files checked out. The key is in the same format as expected by
177 linkgit:git-config[1] (e.g., `core.eol=true`). If multiple
178 values are given for the same key, each value will be written to
179 the config file. This makes it safe, for example, to add
180 additional fetch refspecs to the origin remote.
183 Create a 'shallow' clone with a history truncated to the
184 specified number of revisions. A shallow repository has a
185 number of limitations (you cannot clone or fetch from
186 it, nor push from nor into it), but is adequate if you
187 are only interested in the recent history of a large project
188 with a long history, and would want to send in fixes
192 Clone only the history leading to the tip of a single branch,
193 either specified by the `--branch` option or the primary
194 branch remote's `HEAD` points at. When creating a shallow
195 clone with the `--depth` option, this is the default, unless
196 `--no-single-branch` is given to fetch the histories near the
197 tips of all branches.
198 Further fetches into the resulting repository will only update the
199 remote-tracking branch for the branch this option was used for the
200 initial cloning. If the HEAD at the remote did not point at any
201 branch when `--single-branch` clone was made, no remote-tracking
205 --recurse-submodules::
206 After the clone is created, initialize all submodules within,
207 using their default settings. This is equivalent to running
208 `git submodule update --init --recursive` immediately after
209 the clone is finished. This option is ignored if the cloned
210 repository does not have a worktree/checkout (i.e. if any of
211 `--no-checkout`/`-n`, `--bare`, or `--mirror` is given)
213 --separate-git-dir=<git dir>::
214 Instead of placing the cloned repository where it is supposed
215 to be, place the cloned repository at the specified directory,
216 then make a filesytem-agnostic git symbolic link to there.
217 The result is git repository can be separated from working
222 The (possibly remote) repository to clone from. See the
223 <<URLS,URLS>> section below for more information on specifying
227 The name of a new directory to clone into. The "humanish"
228 part of the source repository is used if no directory is
229 explicitly given (`repo` for `/path/to/repo.git` and `foo`
230 for `host.xz:foo/.git`). Cloning into an existing directory
231 is only allowed if the directory is empty.
239 * Clone from upstream:
242 $ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.6 my2.6
248 * Make a local clone that borrows from the current directory, without checking things out:
251 $ git clone -l -s -n . ../copy
257 * Clone from upstream while borrowing from an existing local directory:
260 $ git clone --reference my2.6 \
261 git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux-2.7 \
267 * Create a bare repository to publish your changes to the public:
270 $ git clone --bare -l /home/proj/.git /pub/scm/proj.git
274 * Create a repository on the kernel.org machine that borrows from Linus:
277 $ git clone --bare -l -s /pub/scm/.../torvalds/linux-2.6.git \
278 /pub/scm/.../me/subsys-2.6.git
283 Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite