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1git-clone(1)
2============
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3
4NAME
5----
29cf5e12 6git-clone - Clone a repository into a new directory
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7
8
9SYNOPSIS
10--------
353ce815 11[verse]
b1889c36 12'git clone' [--template=<template_directory>]
bc699afc 13 [-l] [-s] [--no-hardlinks] [-q] [-n] [--bare] [--mirror]
db9bc00e 14 [-o <name>] [-b <name>] [-u <upload-pack>] [--reference <repository>]
fb1d6dab 15 [--dissociate] [--separate-git-dir <git dir>]
0dab2468 16 [--depth <depth>] [--[no-]single-branch] [--no-tags]
bc29b0b9 17 [--recurse-submodules[=<pathspec>]] [--[no-]shallow-submodules]
4fe788b1 18 [--[no-]remote-submodules] [--jobs <n>] [--sparse] [--[no-]reject-shallow]
4a465443 19 [--filter=<filter>] [--] <repository>
4c691016 20 [<directory>]
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21
22DESCRIPTION
23-----------
4607166d 24
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25Clones a repository into a newly created directory, creates
26remote-tracking branches for each branch in the cloned repository
3711d1cd 27(visible using `git branch --remotes`), and creates and checks out an
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28initial branch that is forked from the cloned repository's
29currently active branch.
4607166d 30
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31After the clone, a plain `git fetch` without arguments will update
32all the remote-tracking branches, and a `git pull` without
33arguments will in addition merge the remote master branch into the
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34current master branch, if any (this is untrue when "--single-branch"
35is given; see below).
4607166d 36
db9819a4 37This default configuration is achieved by creating references to
cc1b8d8b 38the remote branch heads under `refs/remotes/origin` and
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39by initializing `remote.origin.url` and `remote.origin.fetch`
40configuration variables.
6ec311da 41
f4bf2184 42
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43OPTIONS
44-------
45-l::
bfc8c84e 46--local::
6ec311da 47 When the repository to clone from is on a local machine,
2de9b711 48 this flag bypasses the normal "Git aware" transport
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49 mechanism and clones the repository by making a copy of
50 HEAD and everything under objects and refs directories.
3d5c418f 51 The files under `.git/objects/` directory are hardlinked
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52 to save space when possible.
53+
54If the repository is specified as a local path (e.g., `/path/to/repo`),
55this is the default, and --local is essentially a no-op. If the
56repository is specified as a URL, then this flag is ignored (and we
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57never use the local optimizations). Specifying `--no-local` will
58override the default when `/path/to/repo` is given, using the regular
2de9b711 59Git transport instead.
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61*NOTE*: this operation can race with concurrent modification to the
62source repository, similar to running `cp -r src dst` while modifying
63`src`.
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64
65--no-hardlinks::
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66 Force the cloning process from a repository on a local
67 filesystem to copy the files under the `.git/objects`
68 directory instead of using hardlinks. This may be desirable
69 if you are trying to make a back-up of your repository.
6ec311da 70
a2775c2a 71-s::
bfc8c84e 72--shared::
a2775c2a 73 When the repository to clone is on the local machine,
4607166d 74 instead of using hard links, automatically setup
550c66f3 75 `.git/objects/info/alternates` to share the objects
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76 with the source repository. The resulting repository
77 starts out without any object of its own.
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79*NOTE*: this is a possibly dangerous operation; do *not* use
80it unless you understand what it does. If you clone your
2498a1ad 81repository using this option and then delete branches (or use any
2de9b711 82other Git command that makes any existing commit unreferenced) in the
2498a1ad 83source repository, some objects may become unreferenced (or dangling).
2de9b711 84These objects may be removed by normal Git operations (such as `git commit`)
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85which automatically call `git maintenance run --auto`. (See
86linkgit:git-maintenance[1].) If these objects are removed and were referenced
87by the cloned repository, then the cloned repository will become corrupt.
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89Note that running `git repack` without the `--local` option in a repository
90cloned with `--shared` will copy objects from the source repository into a pack
91in the cloned repository, removing the disk space savings of `clone --shared`.
92It is safe, however, to run `git gc`, which uses the `--local` option by
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93default.
94+
3711d1cd 95If you want to break the dependency of a repository cloned with `--shared` on
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96its source repository, you can simply run `git repack -a` to copy all
97objects from the source repository into a pack in the cloned repository.
a2775c2a 98
f7415b4d 99--reference[-if-able] <repository>::
40592376 100 If the reference repository is on the local machine,
550c66f3 101 automatically setup `.git/objects/info/alternates` to
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102 obtain objects from the reference repository. Using
103 an already existing repository as an alternate will
451e5931 104 require fewer objects to be copied from the repository
23edecbc 105 being cloned, reducing network and local storage costs.
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106 When using the `--reference-if-able`, a non existing
107 directory is skipped with a warning instead of aborting
108 the clone.
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110*NOTE*: see the NOTE for the `--shared` option, and also the
111`--dissociate` option.
112
113--dissociate::
114 Borrow the objects from reference repositories specified
115 with the `--reference` options only to reduce network
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116 transfer, and stop borrowing from them after a clone is made
117 by making necessary local copies of borrowed objects. This
118 option can also be used when cloning locally from a
119 repository that already borrows objects from another
120 repository--the new repository will borrow objects from the
121 same repository, and this option can be used to stop the
122 borrowing.
23edecbc 123
6ec311da 124-q::
bfc8c84e 125--quiet::
488c3163 126 Operate quietly. Progress is not reported to the standard
0d0bac67 127 error stream.
6ec311da 128
21188b1e 129-v::
bfc8c84e 130--verbose::
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131 Run verbosely. Does not affect the reporting of progress status
132 to the standard error stream.
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133
134--progress::
488c3163 135 Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
3711d1cd 136 by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless `--quiet`
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137 is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
138 standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
21188b1e 139
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140--server-option=<option>::
141 Transmit the given string to the server when communicating using
142 protocol version 2. The given string must not contain a NUL or LF
143 character. The server's handling of server options, including
144 unknown ones, is server-specific.
145 When multiple `--server-option=<option>` are given, they are all
146 sent to the other side in the order listed on the command line.
147
a2775c2a 148-n::
bfc8c84e 149--no-checkout::
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150 No checkout of HEAD is performed after the clone is complete.
151
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152--[no-]reject-shallow::
153 Fail if the source repository is a shallow repository.
154 The 'clone.rejectShallow' configuration variable can be used to
155 specify the default.
156
87e80c4b 157--bare::
48a8c26c 158 Make a 'bare' Git repository. That is, instead of
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159 creating `<directory>` and placing the administrative
160 files in `<directory>/.git`, make the `<directory>`
3711d1cd 161 itself the `$GIT_DIR`. This obviously implies the `--no-checkout`
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162 because there is nowhere to check out the working tree.
163 Also the branch heads at the remote are copied directly
164 to corresponding local branch heads, without mapping
165 them to `refs/remotes/origin/`. When this option is
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166 used, neither remote-tracking branches nor the related
167 configuration variables are created.
8a1a120c 168
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169--sparse::
170 Initialize the sparse-checkout file so the working
171 directory starts with only the files in the root
172 of the repository. The sparse-checkout file can be
173 modified to grow the working directory as needed.
174
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175--filter=<filter-spec>::
176 Use the partial clone feature and request that the server sends
177 a subset of reachable objects according to a given object filter.
178 When using `--filter`, the supplied `<filter-spec>` is used for
179 the partial clone filter. For example, `--filter=blob:none` will
180 filter out all blobs (file contents) until needed by Git. Also,
181 `--filter=blob:limit=<size>` will filter out all blobs of size
182 at least `<size>`. For more details on filter specifications, see
183 the `--filter` option in linkgit:git-rev-list[1].
184
bc699afc 185--mirror::
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186 Set up a mirror of the source repository. This implies `--bare`.
187 Compared to `--bare`, `--mirror` not only maps local branches of the
188 source to local branches of the target, it maps all refs (including
29b9a66f 189 remote-tracking branches, notes etc.) and sets up a refspec configuration such
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190 that all these refs are overwritten by a `git remote update` in the
191 target repository.
bc699afc 192
e6c310fd 193-o <name>::
bfc8c84e 194--origin <name>::
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195 Instead of using the remote name `origin` to keep track of the upstream
196 repository, use `<name>`. Overrides `clone.defaultRemoteName` from the
197 config.
e6c310fd 198
7a4ee28f 199-b <name>::
bfc8c84e 200--branch <name>::
7a4ee28f 201 Instead of pointing the newly created HEAD to the branch pointed
550c66f3 202 to by the cloned repository's HEAD, point to `<name>` branch
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203 instead. In a non-bare repository, this is the branch that will
204 be checked out.
205 `--branch` can also take tags and detaches the HEAD at that commit
206 in the resulting repository.
7a4ee28f 207
6ec311da 208-u <upload-pack>::
bfc8c84e 209--upload-pack <upload-pack>::
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210 When given, and the repository to clone from is accessed
211 via ssh, this specifies a non-default path for the command
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212 run on the other end.
213
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214--template=<template_directory>::
215 Specify the directory from which templates will be used;
d8a8488d 216 (See the "TEMPLATE DIRECTORY" section of linkgit:git-init[1].)
a57c8bac 217
84054f79 218-c <key>=<value>::
bfc8c84e 219--config <key>=<value>::
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220 Set a configuration variable in the newly-created repository;
221 this takes effect immediately after the repository is
222 initialized, but before the remote history is fetched or any
223 files checked out. The key is in the same format as expected by
224 linkgit:git-config[1] (e.g., `core.eol=true`). If multiple
225 values are given for the same key, each value will be written to
226 the config file. This makes it safe, for example, to add
227 additional fetch refspecs to the origin remote.
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229Due to limitations of the current implementation, some configuration
230variables do not take effect until after the initial fetch and checkout.
231Configuration variables known to not take effect are:
232`remote.<name>.mirror` and `remote.<name>.tagOpt`. Use the
233corresponding `--mirror` and `--no-tags` options instead.
84054f79 234
f496454e 235--depth <depth>::
f4bf2184 236 Create a 'shallow' clone with a history truncated to the
fc142811 237 specified number of commits. Implies `--single-branch` unless
28a1b569 238 `--no-single-branch` is given to fetch the histories near the
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239 tips of all branches. If you want to clone submodules shallowly,
240 also pass `--shallow-submodules`.
f4bf2184 241
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242--shallow-since=<date>::
243 Create a shallow clone with a history after the specified time.
244
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245--shallow-exclude=<revision>::
246 Create a shallow clone with a history, excluding commits
247 reachable from a specified remote branch or tag. This option
248 can be specified multiple times.
249
0460ed2c 250--[no-]single-branch::
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251 Clone only the history leading to the tip of a single branch,
252 either specified by the `--branch` option or the primary
28a1b569 253 branch remote's `HEAD` points at.
31b808a0 254 Further fetches into the resulting repository will only update the
a6d3bde5 255 remote-tracking branch for the branch this option was used for the
31b808a0 256 initial cloning. If the HEAD at the remote did not point at any
a6d3bde5 257 branch when `--single-branch` clone was made, no remote-tracking
31b808a0 258 branch is created.
3e6e0edd 259
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260--no-tags::
261 Don't clone any tags, and set
262 `remote.<remote>.tagOpt=--no-tags` in the config, ensuring
263 that future `git pull` and `git fetch` operations won't follow
264 any tags. Subsequent explicit tag fetches will still work,
265 (see linkgit:git-fetch[1]).
266+
267Can be used in conjunction with `--single-branch` to clone and
268maintain a branch with no references other than a single cloned
269branch. This is useful e.g. to maintain minimal clones of the default
270branch of some repository for search indexing.
271
6069eccd 272--recurse-submodules[=<pathspec>]::
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273 After the clone is created, initialize and clone submodules
274 within based on the provided pathspec. If no pathspec is
275 provided, all submodules are initialized and cloned.
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276 This option can be given multiple times for pathspecs consisting
277 of multiple entries. The resulting clone has `submodule.active` set to
bb62e0a9 278 the provided pathspec, or "." (meaning all submodules) if no
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279 pathspec is provided.
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281Submodules are initialized and cloned using their default settings. This is
282equivalent to running
283`git submodule update --init --recursive <pathspec>` immediately after
284the clone is finished. This option is ignored if the cloned repository does
285not have a worktree/checkout (i.e. if any of `--no-checkout`/`-n`, `--bare`,
286or `--mirror` is given)
e7fed18a 287
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288--[no-]shallow-submodules::
289 All submodules which are cloned will be shallow with a depth of 1.
290
4c691016 291--[no-]remote-submodules::
fd5041e1 292 All submodules which are cloned will use the status of the submodule's
4c691016 293 remote-tracking branch to update the submodule, rather than the
fd5041e1 294 superproject's recorded SHA-1. Equivalent to passing `--remote` to
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295 `git submodule update`.
296
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297--separate-git-dir=<git dir>::
298 Instead of placing the cloned repository where it is supposed
299 to be, place the cloned repository at the specified directory,
5fe8f49b 300 then make a filesystem-agnostic Git symbolic link to there.
2de9b711 301 The result is Git repository can be separated from working
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302 tree.
303
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304-j <n>::
305--jobs <n>::
306 The number of submodules fetched at the same time.
307 Defaults to the `submodule.fetchJobs` option.
b57fb80a 308
6ec311da 309<repository>::
37ba0561 310 The (possibly remote) repository to clone from. See the
73364e4f 311 <<URLS,GIT URLS>> section below for more information on specifying
37ba0561 312 repositories.
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313
314<directory>::
fb6a9f93 315 The name of a new directory to clone into. The "humanish"
0879aa28 316 part of the source repository is used if no directory is
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317 explicitly given (`repo` for `/path/to/repo.git` and `foo`
318 for `host.xz:foo/.git`). Cloning into an existing directory
ec00d6e0 319 is only allowed if the directory is empty.
4607166d 320
347989f4 321:git-clone: 1
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322include::urls.txt[]
323
76a8788c 324EXAMPLES
2b5f3ed3 325--------
1e2ccd3a 326
47638685 327* Clone from upstream:
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328+
329------------
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330$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux.git my-linux
331$ cd my-linux
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332$ make
333------------
334
335
47638685 336* Make a local clone that borrows from the current directory, without checking things out:
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337+
338------------
339$ git clone -l -s -n . ../copy
a6e3768f 340$ cd ../copy
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341$ git show-branch
342------------
343
8a1a120c 344
47638685 345* Clone from upstream while borrowing from an existing local directory:
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346+
347------------
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348$ git clone --reference /git/linux.git \
349 git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux.git \
350 my-linux
351$ cd my-linux
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352------------
353
354
47638685 355* Create a bare repository to publish your changes to the public:
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356+
357------------
87e80c4b 358$ git clone --bare -l /home/proj/.git /pub/scm/proj.git
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359------------
360
361
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362GIT
363---
9e1f0a85 364Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite