clone

Git · Reference cheat sheet

📋 Overview

git clone copies a remote repository (history, branches, remotes) into a new local directory and checks out the default branch. Use shallow / sparse / filter options for large repos.

🔧 Core concepts

• URL forms — HTTPS, SSH (git@host:org/repo.git), local path.
• Default remote — origin; default branch from remote HEAD.
• Depth — --depth N shallow history; --single-branch limits refs.
• Recurse — --recurse-submodules initializes submodules.
• Bare / mirror — --bare, --mirror for server-style copies.

💡 Examples

git clone https://github.com/org/repo.git
git clone git@github.com:org/repo.git my-app
cd my-app

# Shallow (CI)
git clone --depth 1 --branch main https://github.com/org/repo.git

# Specific branch only
git clone --single-branch --branch develop git@github.com:org/repo.git

# With submodules
git clone --recurse-submodules git@github.com:org/repo.git

# Existing empty dir
git clone https://github.com/org/repo.git .

# Sparse (partial clone + sparse-checkout)
git clone --filter=blob:none --sparse git@github.com:org/huge.git
cd huge
git sparse-checkout set apps/web

⚠️ Pitfalls

• Cloning into a non-empty directory fails unless the dir is empty / ..
• Shallow clones limit blame / some bisect / merge-base operations.
• Wrong protocol (HTTPS vs SSH) causes auth friction — set remotes intentionally.
• Large LFS repos need Git LFS installed before checkout of pointers.
• --recurse-submodules can fail if submodule URLs need credentials.

🔗 Related

• init.md
• remote.md
• submodule.md
• sparse_checkout.md
• fetch.md
• git_lfs.md