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Junio C Hamano215a7ad2005-09-07 17:26:23 -07001git-clone(1)
2============
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -07003
4NAME
5----
william pursell29cf5e12007-06-09 16:44:12 +01006git-clone - Clone a repository into a new directory
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -07007
8
9SYNOPSIS
10--------
Jonas Fonseca353ce812005-12-31 18:37:15 +010011[verse]
Jonathan Niederb1889c32008-06-30 01:09:04 -050012'git clone' [--template=<template_directory>]
Johannes Schindelinbc699af2008-08-02 21:38:56 +020013 [-l] [-s] [--no-hardlinks] [-q] [-n] [--bare] [--mirror]
David Soria Parradb9bc002009-11-30 14:27:52 +010014 [-o <name>] [-b <name>] [-u <upload-pack>] [--reference <repository>]
Nguyen Thai Ngoc Duy09ffc702011-05-24 23:40:32 +070015 [--separate-git-dir <git dir>]
Nguyễn Thái Ngọc Duy3e6e0ed2012-01-07 21:45:59 +070016 [--depth <depth>] [--[no-]single-branch]
Felipe Contreras0460ed22013-05-08 20:16:55 -050017 [--recursive | --recurse-submodules] [--] <repository>
Jens Lehmannccdd3da2010-11-04 21:27:12 +010018 [<directory>]
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -070019
20DESCRIPTION
21-----------
Junio C Hamano46071662005-11-05 22:26:52 -080022
J. Bruce Fieldsdb9819a2006-12-08 01:27:21 -050023Clones a repository into a newly created directory, creates
24remote-tracking branches for each branch in the cloned repository
Jonathan Nieder33405be2009-10-09 18:07:39 -050025(visible using `git branch -r`), and creates and checks out an
26initial branch that is forked from the cloned repository's
27currently active branch.
Junio C Hamano46071662005-11-05 22:26:52 -080028
J. Bruce Fieldsdb9819a2006-12-08 01:27:21 -050029After the clone, a plain `git fetch` without arguments will update
30all the remote-tracking branches, and a `git pull` without
31arguments will in addition merge the remote master branch into the
Ralf Thielow31b808a2012-09-20 20:04:08 +020032current master branch, if any (this is untrue when "--single-branch"
33is given; see below).
Junio C Hamano46071662005-11-05 22:26:52 -080034
J. Bruce Fieldsdb9819a2006-12-08 01:27:21 -050035This default configuration is achieved by creating references to
Jeff Kingcc1b8d82010-02-17 20:16:20 -050036the remote branch heads under `refs/remotes/origin` and
J. Bruce Fieldsdb9819a2006-12-08 01:27:21 -050037by initializing `remote.origin.url` and `remote.origin.fetch`
38configuration variables.
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -070039
Junio C Hamanof4bf2182007-01-01 15:08:06 -080040
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -070041OPTIONS
42-------
Eric W. Biedermana2775c22005-10-02 13:42:57 -060043--local::
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -070044-l::
45 When the repository to clone from is on a local machine,
Thomas Ackermann2de9b712013-01-21 20:17:53 +010046 this flag bypasses the normal "Git aware" transport
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -070047 mechanism and clones the repository by making a copy of
48 HEAD and everything under objects and refs directories.
Junio C Hamano3d5c4182007-08-01 23:42:36 -070049 The files under `.git/objects/` directory are hardlinked
Jeff King9197a102012-05-30 07:09:08 -040050 to save space when possible.
51+
52If the repository is specified as a local path (e.g., `/path/to/repo`),
53this is the default, and --local is essentially a no-op. If the
54repository is specified as a URL, then this flag is ignored (and we
Jeff King189260b2012-05-30 07:10:16 -040055never use the local optimizations). Specifying `--no-local` will
56override the default when `/path/to/repo` is given, using the regular
Thomas Ackermann2de9b712013-01-21 20:17:53 +010057Git transport instead.
Jeff King9197a102012-05-30 07:09:08 -040058+
59To force copying instead of hardlinking (which may be desirable if you
60are trying to make a back-up of your repository), but still avoid the
Thomas Ackermann2de9b712013-01-21 20:17:53 +010061usual "Git aware" transport mechanism, `--no-hardlinks` can be used.
Junio C Hamano3d5c4182007-08-01 23:42:36 -070062
63--no-hardlinks::
64 Optimize the cloning process from a repository on a
65 local filesystem by copying files under `.git/objects`
66 directory.
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -070067
Eric W. Biedermana2775c22005-10-02 13:42:57 -060068--shared::
69-s::
70 When the repository to clone is on the local machine,
Junio C Hamano46071662005-11-05 22:26:52 -080071 instead of using hard links, automatically setup
Björn Gustavsson550c66f2009-10-20 22:38:38 +020072 `.git/objects/info/alternates` to share the objects
Junio C Hamano46071662005-11-05 22:26:52 -080073 with the source repository. The resulting repository
74 starts out without any object of its own.
Miklos Vajna84668872008-02-12 01:12:57 +010075+
76*NOTE*: this is a possibly dangerous operation; do *not* use
77it unless you understand what it does. If you clone your
Brandon Casey2498a1a2008-04-03 13:26:13 -050078repository using this option and then delete branches (or use any
Thomas Ackermann2de9b712013-01-21 20:17:53 +010079other Git command that makes any existing commit unreferenced) in the
Brandon Casey2498a1a2008-04-03 13:26:13 -050080source repository, some objects may become unreferenced (or dangling).
Thomas Ackermann2de9b712013-01-21 20:17:53 +010081These objects may be removed by normal Git operations (such as `git commit`)
Jonathan Nieder483bc4f2008-06-30 13:56:34 -050082which automatically call `git gc --auto`. (See linkgit:git-gc[1].)
83If these objects are removed and were referenced by the cloned repository,
84then the cloned repository will become corrupt.
Jeff King13354f52009-08-17 02:19:17 -040085+
86Note that running `git repack` without the `-l` option in a repository
87cloned with `-s` will copy objects from the source repository into a pack
88in the cloned repository, removing the disk space savings of `clone -s`.
89It is safe, however, to run `git gc`, which uses the `-l` option by
90default.
91+
92If you want to break the dependency of a repository cloned with `-s` on
93its source repository, you can simply run `git repack -a` to copy all
94objects from the source repository into a pack in the cloned repository.
Eric W. Biedermana2775c22005-10-02 13:42:57 -060095
Shawn Pearce23edecb2006-04-18 20:19:48 -040096--reference <repository>::
Miklos Vajna40592372009-09-03 13:24:16 +020097 If the reference repository is on the local machine,
Björn Gustavsson550c66f2009-10-20 22:38:38 +020098 automatically setup `.git/objects/info/alternates` to
Shawn Pearce23edecb2006-04-18 20:19:48 -040099 obtain objects from the reference repository. Using
100 an already existing repository as an alternate will
Mike Ralphson451e5932007-09-07 17:43:37 +0100101 require fewer objects to be copied from the repository
Shawn Pearce23edecb2006-04-18 20:19:48 -0400102 being cloned, reducing network and local storage costs.
Brandon Casey2498a1a2008-04-03 13:26:13 -0500103+
Björn Gustavsson550c66f2009-10-20 22:38:38 +0200104*NOTE*: see the NOTE for the `--shared` option.
Shawn Pearce23edecb2006-04-18 20:19:48 -0400105
Eric W. Biedermana2775c22005-10-02 13:42:57 -0600106--quiet::
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -0700107-q::
Tay Ray Chuan488c3162009-12-26 01:12:04 +0800108 Operate quietly. Progress is not reported to the standard
109 error stream. This flag is also passed to the `rsync'
Steve Haslamd3296e32008-07-25 19:37:48 +0100110 command when given.
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -0700111
Miklos Vajna21188b12008-10-09 01:40:32 +0200112--verbose::
113-v::
Tay Ray Chuanc54b74a2010-02-24 20:50:20 +0800114 Run verbosely. Does not affect the reporting of progress status
115 to the standard error stream.
Tay Ray Chuan5a518ad2009-12-26 01:12:06 +0800116
117--progress::
Tay Ray Chuan488c3162009-12-26 01:12:04 +0800118 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.
Miklos Vajna21188b12008-10-09 01:40:32 +0200122
Jakub Narebskifd0368f2007-07-13 01:54:07 +0200123--no-checkout::
Eric W. Biedermana2775c22005-10-02 13:42:57 -0600124-n::
125 No checkout of HEAD is performed after the clone is complete.
126
Junio C Hamano87e80c42006-01-22 17:24:22 -0800127--bare::
Thomas Ackermann48a8c262013-01-21 20:16:20 +0100128 Make a 'bare' Git repository. That is, instead of
Junio C Hamano8a1a1202006-01-14 16:00:32 -0800129 creating `<directory>` and placing the administrative
130 files in `<directory>/.git`, make the `<directory>`
Petr Baudis71821352006-11-23 23:58:35 +0100131 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
J. Bruce Fields36566cc2006-12-31 18:47:34 -0500136 used, neither remote-tracking branches nor the related
137 configuration variables are created.
Junio C Hamano8a1a1202006-01-14 16:00:32 -0800138
Johannes Schindelinbc699af2008-08-02 21:38:56 +0200139--mirror::
Uwe Kleine-König6db21032010-10-04 19:28:27 +0200140 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
Matthieu Moy29b9a662010-11-02 16:31:24 +0100143 remote-tracking branches, notes etc.) and sets up a refspec configuration such
Uwe Kleine-König6db21032010-10-04 19:28:27 +0200144 that all these refs are overwritten by a `git remote update` in the
145 target repository.
Johannes Schindelinbc699af2008-08-02 21:38:56 +0200146
Andy Parkinsba158a32006-11-02 12:11:56 +0100147--origin <name>::
Johannes Schindeline6c310f2005-12-22 23:37:24 +0100148-o <name>::
Björn Gustavsson550c66f2009-10-20 22:38:38 +0200149 Instead of using the remote name `origin` to keep track
150 of the upstream repository, use `<name>`.
Johannes Schindeline6c310f2005-12-22 23:37:24 +0100151
Jeff King7a4ee282009-08-26 15:05:08 -0400152--branch <name>::
153-b <name>::
154 Instead of pointing the newly created HEAD to the branch pointed
Björn Gustavsson550c66f2009-10-20 22:38:38 +0200155 to by the cloned repository's HEAD, point to `<name>` branch
Ralf Thielow31b808a2012-09-20 20:04:08 +0200156 instead. In a non-bare repository, this is the branch that will
157 be checked out.
158 `--branch` can also take tags and detaches the HEAD at that commit
159 in the resulting repository.
Jeff King7a4ee282009-08-26 15:05:08 -0400160
Eric W. Biedermana2775c22005-10-02 13:42:57 -0600161--upload-pack <upload-pack>::
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -0700162-u <upload-pack>::
Steve Haslamd3296e32008-07-25 19:37:48 +0100163 When given, and the repository to clone from is accessed
164 via ssh, this specifies a non-default path for the command
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -0700165 run on the other end.
166
Junio C Hamanoa57c8ba2006-05-28 10:14:38 -0700167--template=<template_directory>::
168 Specify the directory from which templates will be used;
Steven Draked8a84882010-02-17 12:44:46 +1300169 (See the "TEMPLATE DIRECTORY" section of linkgit:git-init[1].)
Junio C Hamanoa57c8ba2006-05-28 10:14:38 -0700170
Jeff King84054f72011-06-09 16:56:19 -0400171--config <key>=<value>::
172-c <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.
181
Christian Schlotterf4964542007-02-19 13:35:35 +0100182--depth <depth>::
Junio C Hamanof4bf2182007-01-01 15:08:06 -0800183 Create a 'shallow' clone with a history truncated to the
Ralf Wildenhuesd9d10bb2007-11-01 09:46:02 +0100184 specified number of revisions. A shallow repository has a
Junio C Hamano5333f2a2013-07-15 08:31:52 -0700185 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
189 as patches.
Junio C Hamanof4bf2182007-01-01 15:08:06 -0800190
Felipe Contreras0460ed22013-05-08 20:16:55 -0500191--[no-]single-branch::
Nguyễn Thái Ngọc Duy3e6e0ed2012-01-07 21:45:59 +0700192 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.
Ralf Thielow31b808a2012-09-20 20:04:08 +0200198 Further fetches into the resulting repository will only update the
Matthieu Moya6d3bde2012-10-23 13:34:05 +0200199 remote-tracking branch for the branch this option was used for the
Ralf Thielow31b808a2012-09-20 20:04:08 +0200200 initial cloning. If the HEAD at the remote did not point at any
Matthieu Moya6d3bde2012-10-23 13:34:05 +0200201 branch when `--single-branch` clone was made, no remote-tracking
Ralf Thielow31b808a2012-09-20 20:04:08 +0200202 branch is created.
Nguyễn Thái Ngọc Duy3e6e0ed2012-01-07 21:45:59 +0700203
Johan Herlande7fed182009-08-20 01:07:43 +0200204--recursive::
Jens Lehmannccdd3da2010-11-04 21:27:12 +0100205--recurse-submodules::
Johan Herlande7fed182009-08-20 01:07:43 +0200206 After the clone is created, initialize all submodules within,
207 using their default settings. This is equivalent to running
Björn Gustavsson550c66f2009-10-20 22:38:38 +0200208 `git submodule update --init --recursive` immediately after
Johan Herlande7fed182009-08-20 01:07:43 +0200209 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)
212
Nguyễn Thái Ngọc Duyb57fb802011-03-19 22:16:56 +0700213--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,
Thomas Ackermann2de9b712013-01-21 20:17:53 +0100216 then make a filesytem-agnostic Git symbolic link to there.
217 The result is Git repository can be separated from working
Nguyễn Thái Ngọc Duyb57fb802011-03-19 22:16:56 +0700218 tree.
219
220
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -0700221<repository>::
Andrew Ruder37ba0562007-07-04 17:21:36 -0500222 The (possibly remote) repository to clone from. See the
223 <<URLS,URLS>> section below for more information on specifying
224 repositories.
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -0700225
226<directory>::
Uwe Zeisbergerfb6a9f92006-06-08 08:50:09 +0200227 The name of a new directory to clone into. The "humanish"
Andreas Ericsson0879aa22005-11-10 12:58:08 +0100228 part of the source repository is used if no directory is
Björn Gustavsson550c66f2009-10-20 22:38:38 +0200229 explicitly given (`repo` for `/path/to/repo.git` and `foo`
230 for `host.xz:foo/.git`). Cloning into an existing directory
Alexander Potashevec00d6e2009-05-07 16:04:08 +0400231 is only allowed if the directory is empty.
Junio C Hamano46071662005-11-05 22:26:52 -0800232
Sergei Organov347989f2007-11-16 21:43:16 +0300233:git-clone: 1
Andrew Ruder37ba0562007-07-04 17:21:36 -0500234include::urls.txt[]
235
Junio C Hamano1e2ccd32005-12-12 23:24:06 -0800236Examples
sean2b5f3ed2006-05-05 15:05:10 -0400237--------
Junio C Hamano1e2ccd32005-12-12 23:24:06 -0800238
Michael J Gruber47638682010-03-21 18:30:19 +0100239* Clone from upstream:
Junio C Hamano1e2ccd32005-12-12 23:24:06 -0800240+
241------------
W. Trevor King283efb02013-06-22 10:46:27 -0400242$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux.git my-linux
243$ cd my-linux
Junio C Hamano1e2ccd32005-12-12 23:24:06 -0800244$ make
245------------
246
247
Michael J Gruber47638682010-03-21 18:30:19 +0100248* Make a local clone that borrows from the current directory, without checking things out:
Junio C Hamano1e2ccd32005-12-12 23:24:06 -0800249+
250------------
251$ git clone -l -s -n . ../copy
Steffen Prohaskaa6e37682007-05-12 13:32:34 +0200252$ cd ../copy
Junio C Hamano1e2ccd32005-12-12 23:24:06 -0800253$ git show-branch
254------------
255
Junio C Hamano8a1a1202006-01-14 16:00:32 -0800256
Michael J Gruber47638682010-03-21 18:30:19 +0100257* Clone from upstream while borrowing from an existing local directory:
Shawn Pearce23edecb2006-04-18 20:19:48 -0400258+
259------------
W. Trevor Kingf22a6542013-06-22 10:46:25 -0400260$ git clone --reference /git/linux.git \
261 git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux.git \
262 my-linux
263$ cd my-linux
Shawn Pearce23edecb2006-04-18 20:19:48 -0400264------------
265
266
Michael J Gruber47638682010-03-21 18:30:19 +0100267* Create a bare repository to publish your changes to the public:
Junio C Hamano8a1a1202006-01-14 16:00:32 -0800268+
269------------
Junio C Hamano87e80c42006-01-22 17:24:22 -0800270$ git clone --bare -l /home/proj/.git /pub/scm/proj.git
Junio C Hamano8a1a1202006-01-14 16:00:32 -0800271------------
272
273
Junio C Hamano6ec311d2005-07-13 20:25:54 -0700274GIT
275---
Christian Couder9e1f0a82008-06-06 09:07:32 +0200276Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite