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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]
d22eb044 18 [--jobs <n>] [--] <repository> [<directory>]
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19
20DESCRIPTION
21-----------
4607166d 22
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23Clones a repository into a newly created directory, creates
24remote-tracking branches for each branch in the cloned repository
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25(visible using `git branch -r`), and creates and checks out an
26initial branch that is forked from the cloned repository's
27currently active branch.
4607166d 28
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29After 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
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32current master branch, if any (this is untrue when "--single-branch"
33is given; see below).
4607166d 34
db9819a4 35This default configuration is achieved by creating references to
cc1b8d8b 36the remote branch heads under `refs/remotes/origin` and
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37by initializing `remote.origin.url` and `remote.origin.fetch`
38configuration variables.
6ec311da 39
f4bf2184 40
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41OPTIONS
42-------
a2775c2a 43--local::
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44-l::
45 When the repository to clone from is on a local machine,
2de9b711 46 this flag bypasses the normal "Git aware" transport
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47 mechanism and clones the repository by making a copy of
48 HEAD and everything under objects and refs directories.
3d5c418f 49 The files under `.git/objects/` directory are hardlinked
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50 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
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55never use the local optimizations). Specifying `--no-local` will
56override the default when `/path/to/repo` is given, using the regular
2de9b711 57Git transport instead.
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58
59--no-hardlinks::
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60 Force the cloning process from a repository on a local
61 filesystem to copy the files under the `.git/objects`
62 directory instead of using hardlinks. This may be desirable
63 if you are trying to make a back-up of your repository.
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65--shared::
66-s::
67 When the repository to clone is on the local machine,
4607166d 68 instead of using hard links, automatically setup
550c66f3 69 `.git/objects/info/alternates` to share the objects
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70 with the source repository. The resulting repository
71 starts out without any object of its own.
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72+
73*NOTE*: this is a possibly dangerous operation; do *not* use
74it unless you understand what it does. If you clone your
2498a1ad 75repository using this option and then delete branches (or use any
2de9b711 76other Git command that makes any existing commit unreferenced) in the
2498a1ad 77source repository, some objects may become unreferenced (or dangling).
2de9b711 78These objects may be removed by normal Git operations (such as `git commit`)
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79which automatically call `git gc --auto`. (See linkgit:git-gc[1].)
80If these objects are removed and were referenced by the cloned repository,
81then the cloned repository will become corrupt.
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82+
83Note that running `git repack` without the `-l` option in a repository
84cloned with `-s` will copy objects from the source repository into a pack
85in the cloned repository, removing the disk space savings of `clone -s`.
86It is safe, however, to run `git gc`, which uses the `-l` option by
87default.
88+
89If you want to break the dependency of a repository cloned with `-s` on
90its source repository, you can simply run `git repack -a` to copy all
91objects from the source repository into a pack in the cloned repository.
a2775c2a 92
f7415b4d 93--reference[-if-able] <repository>::
40592376 94 If the reference repository is on the local machine,
550c66f3 95 automatically setup `.git/objects/info/alternates` to
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96 obtain objects from the reference repository. Using
97 an already existing repository as an alternate will
451e5931 98 require fewer objects to be copied from the repository
23edecbc 99 being cloned, reducing network and local storage costs.
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100 When using the `--reference-if-able`, a non existing
101 directory is skipped with a warning instead of aborting
102 the clone.
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104*NOTE*: see the NOTE for the `--shared` option, and also the
105`--dissociate` option.
106
107--dissociate::
108 Borrow the objects from reference repositories specified
109 with the `--reference` options only to reduce network
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110 transfer, and stop borrowing from them after a clone is made
111 by making necessary local copies of borrowed objects. This
112 option can also be used when cloning locally from a
113 repository that already borrows objects from another
114 repository--the new repository will borrow objects from the
115 same repository, and this option can be used to stop the
116 borrowing.
23edecbc 117
a2775c2a 118--quiet::
6ec311da 119-q::
488c3163 120 Operate quietly. Progress is not reported to the standard
0d0bac67 121 error stream.
6ec311da 122
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123--verbose::
124-v::
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125 Run verbosely. Does not affect the reporting of progress status
126 to the standard error stream.
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127
128--progress::
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129 Progress status is reported on the standard error stream
130 by default when it is attached to a terminal, unless -q
131 is specified. This flag forces progress status even if the
132 standard error stream is not directed to a terminal.
21188b1e 133
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134--server-option=<option>::
135 Transmit the given string to the server when communicating using
136 protocol version 2. The given string must not contain a NUL or LF
137 character. The server's handling of server options, including
138 unknown ones, is server-specific.
139 When multiple `--server-option=<option>` are given, they are all
140 sent to the other side in the order listed on the command line.
141
fd0368f9 142--no-checkout::
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143-n::
144 No checkout of HEAD is performed after the clone is complete.
145
87e80c4b 146--bare::
48a8c26c 147 Make a 'bare' Git repository. That is, instead of
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148 creating `<directory>` and placing the administrative
149 files in `<directory>/.git`, make the `<directory>`
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150 itself the `$GIT_DIR`. This obviously implies the `-n`
151 because there is nowhere to check out the working tree.
152 Also the branch heads at the remote are copied directly
153 to corresponding local branch heads, without mapping
154 them to `refs/remotes/origin/`. When this option is
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155 used, neither remote-tracking branches nor the related
156 configuration variables are created.
8a1a120c 157
bc699afc 158--mirror::
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159 Set up a mirror of the source repository. This implies `--bare`.
160 Compared to `--bare`, `--mirror` not only maps local branches of the
161 source to local branches of the target, it maps all refs (including
29b9a66f 162 remote-tracking branches, notes etc.) and sets up a refspec configuration such
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163 that all these refs are overwritten by a `git remote update` in the
164 target repository.
bc699afc 165
ba158a32 166--origin <name>::
e6c310fd 167-o <name>::
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168 Instead of using the remote name `origin` to keep track
169 of the upstream repository, use `<name>`.
e6c310fd 170
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171--branch <name>::
172-b <name>::
173 Instead of pointing the newly created HEAD to the branch pointed
550c66f3 174 to by the cloned repository's HEAD, point to `<name>` branch
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175 instead. In a non-bare repository, this is the branch that will
176 be checked out.
177 `--branch` can also take tags and detaches the HEAD at that commit
178 in the resulting repository.
7a4ee28f 179
a2775c2a 180--upload-pack <upload-pack>::
6ec311da 181-u <upload-pack>::
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182 When given, and the repository to clone from is accessed
183 via ssh, this specifies a non-default path for the command
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184 run on the other end.
185
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186--template=<template_directory>::
187 Specify the directory from which templates will be used;
d8a8488d 188 (See the "TEMPLATE DIRECTORY" section of linkgit:git-init[1].)
a57c8bac 189
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190--config <key>=<value>::
191-c <key>=<value>::
192 Set a configuration variable in the newly-created repository;
193 this takes effect immediately after the repository is
194 initialized, but before the remote history is fetched or any
195 files checked out. The key is in the same format as expected by
196 linkgit:git-config[1] (e.g., `core.eol=true`). If multiple
197 values are given for the same key, each value will be written to
198 the config file. This makes it safe, for example, to add
199 additional fetch refspecs to the origin remote.
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201Due to limitations of the current implementation, some configuration
202variables do not take effect until after the initial fetch and checkout.
203Configuration variables known to not take effect are:
204`remote.<name>.mirror` and `remote.<name>.tagOpt`. Use the
205corresponding `--mirror` and `--no-tags` options instead.
84054f79 206
f496454e 207--depth <depth>::
f4bf2184 208 Create a 'shallow' clone with a history truncated to the
fc142811 209 specified number of commits. Implies `--single-branch` unless
28a1b569 210 `--no-single-branch` is given to fetch the histories near the
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211 tips of all branches. If you want to clone submodules shallowly,
212 also pass `--shallow-submodules`.
f4bf2184 213
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214--shallow-since=<date>::
215 Create a shallow clone with a history after the specified time.
216
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217--shallow-exclude=<revision>::
218 Create a shallow clone with a history, excluding commits
219 reachable from a specified remote branch or tag. This option
220 can be specified multiple times.
221
0460ed2c 222--[no-]single-branch::
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223 Clone only the history leading to the tip of a single branch,
224 either specified by the `--branch` option or the primary
28a1b569 225 branch remote's `HEAD` points at.
31b808a0 226 Further fetches into the resulting repository will only update the
a6d3bde5 227 remote-tracking branch for the branch this option was used for the
31b808a0 228 initial cloning. If the HEAD at the remote did not point at any
a6d3bde5 229 branch when `--single-branch` clone was made, no remote-tracking
31b808a0 230 branch is created.
3e6e0edd 231
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232--no-tags::
233 Don't clone any tags, and set
234 `remote.<remote>.tagOpt=--no-tags` in the config, ensuring
235 that future `git pull` and `git fetch` operations won't follow
236 any tags. Subsequent explicit tag fetches will still work,
237 (see linkgit:git-fetch[1]).
238+
239Can be used in conjunction with `--single-branch` to clone and
240maintain a branch with no references other than a single cloned
241branch. This is useful e.g. to maintain minimal clones of the default
242branch of some repository for search indexing.
243
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244--recurse-submodules[=<pathspec]::
245 After the clone is created, initialize and clone submodules
246 within based on the provided pathspec. If no pathspec is
247 provided, all submodules are initialized and cloned.
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248 This option can be given multiple times for pathspecs consisting
249 of multiple entries. The resulting clone has `submodule.active` set to
bb62e0a9 250 the provided pathspec, or "." (meaning all submodules) if no
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251 pathspec is provided.
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253Submodules are initialized and cloned using their default settings. This is
254equivalent to running
255`git submodule update --init --recursive <pathspec>` immediately after
256the clone is finished. This option is ignored if the cloned repository does
257not have a worktree/checkout (i.e. if any of `--no-checkout`/`-n`, `--bare`,
258or `--mirror` is given)
e7fed18a 259
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260--[no-]shallow-submodules::
261 All submodules which are cloned will be shallow with a depth of 1.
262
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263--separate-git-dir=<git dir>::
264 Instead of placing the cloned repository where it is supposed
265 to be, place the cloned repository at the specified directory,
5fe8f49b 266 then make a filesystem-agnostic Git symbolic link to there.
2de9b711 267 The result is Git repository can be separated from working
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268 tree.
269
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270-j <n>::
271--jobs <n>::
272 The number of submodules fetched at the same time.
273 Defaults to the `submodule.fetchJobs` option.
b57fb80a 274
6ec311da 275<repository>::
37ba0561 276 The (possibly remote) repository to clone from. See the
73364e4f 277 <<URLS,GIT URLS>> section below for more information on specifying
37ba0561 278 repositories.
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279
280<directory>::
fb6a9f93 281 The name of a new directory to clone into. The "humanish"
0879aa28 282 part of the source repository is used if no directory is
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283 explicitly given (`repo` for `/path/to/repo.git` and `foo`
284 for `host.xz:foo/.git`). Cloning into an existing directory
ec00d6e0 285 is only allowed if the directory is empty.
4607166d 286
347989f4 287:git-clone: 1
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288include::urls.txt[]
289
76a8788c 290EXAMPLES
2b5f3ed3 291--------
1e2ccd3a 292
47638685 293* Clone from upstream:
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294+
295------------
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296$ git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux.git my-linux
297$ cd my-linux
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298$ make
299------------
300
301
47638685 302* Make a local clone that borrows from the current directory, without checking things out:
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303+
304------------
305$ git clone -l -s -n . ../copy
a6e3768f 306$ cd ../copy
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307$ git show-branch
308------------
309
8a1a120c 310
47638685 311* Clone from upstream while borrowing from an existing local directory:
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312+
313------------
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314$ git clone --reference /git/linux.git \
315 git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/.../linux.git \
316 my-linux
317$ cd my-linux
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318------------
319
320
47638685 321* Create a bare repository to publish your changes to the public:
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322+
323------------
87e80c4b 324$ git clone --bare -l /home/proj/.git /pub/scm/proj.git
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325------------
326
327
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328GIT
329---
9e1f0a85 330Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite