CODEWITHSUNDEEP
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airnet
airnet

Reputation: 2673

Do I need to do 'git init' before doing 'git clone' on a project

I'm doing a git clone on a project following the instructions. But, do I need to do an init in the directory beforehand?

Upvotes: 88

Views: 64455

Answers (2)

jornane
jornane

Reputation: 1515

git init will create a new repository. When running git clone, what actually happens in the background is:

git init
git remote add origin ${URL}
git pull

So it's a nice shorthand. Typically, you only use git init if you already have code and you want to put it in a new Git repository.

In answer to your question: if you want to clone a project, then you do not need git init.

Upvotes: 17

michas
michas

Reputation: 26555

git clone is basically a combination of:

  • git init (create the local repository)
  • git remote add (add the URL to that repository)
  • git fetch (fetch all branches from that URL to your local repository)
  • git checkout (create all the files of the main branch in your working tree)

Therefore, no, you don't have to do a git init, because it is already done by git clone.

Upvotes: 175

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