Clone contents of a GitHub repository (without the folder itself)
GitGithubGit Problem Overview
I'd like to git clone the contents of a repository I have on GitHub. When I git clone (git@github:me/name.git...) I get a folder called name/ and inside name I have my contents... How do I get JUST the contents?
Git Solutions
Solution 1 - Git
If the current directory is empty, you can do that with:
git clone [email protected]:me/name.git .
(Note the . at the end to specify the current directory.) Of course, this also creates the .git directory in your current folder, not just the source code from your project.
This optional [directory] parameter is documented in the git clone manual page, which points out that cloning into an existing directory is only allowed if that directory is empty.
Solution 2 - Git
Unfortunately, this doesn't work if there are other, non-related directories already in the same dir. Looking for a solution. The error message is: "fatal: destination path '.' already exists...".
The solution in this case is:
git init
git remote add origin [email protected]:me/name.git
git pull origin master
This recipe works even if there are other directories in the one you want to checkout in.
Solution 3 - Git
If the folder is not empty, a slightly modified version of @JohnLittle's answer worked for me:
git init
git remote add origin https://github.com/me/name.git
git pull origin master
As @peter-cordes pointed out, the only difference is using https protocol instead of git, for which you need to have SSH keys configured.
Solution 4 - Git
You can specify the destination directory as second parameter of the git clone command, so you can do:
git clone <remote> .
This will clone the repository directly in the current local directory.
Solution 5 - Git
to clone git repo into the current and empty folder (no git init) and if you do not use ssh:
git clone https://github.com/accountName/repoName.git .
Solution 6 - Git
this worker for me
git clone <repository> .