How can I clone a Git repository directly into a specific directory instead of creating a new folder?

General Discussions
1

I’m trying to clone a Git repository, but I want the contents to go directly into my current working directory rather than having Git create a new folder for the repository.

For example, running a command like this:

git clone git@github.com:username/repo.git

creates a folder structure like:

./
    repo/
        .git

Instead, I want the repository to be cloned straight into the current directory:

./
    .git
    <all repo files here>

What’s the correct way to git clone to directory so that the repository contents appear directly in the folder I’m currently in? Are there any caveats or precautions I should be aware of when doing this?

2

Hey! Git allows you to specify the target directory at the end of the clone command. For your case, if you want to clone directly into the current folder, do:

git clone git@github.com:username/repo.git .

The . tells Git to use the current directory. Just make sure it’s empty or only has files you don’t mind overwriting.

3

I’ve done this a few times for projects. Another safe approach is to clone into a temp folder first, then move files manually, especially if your current folder isn’t empty. That avoids accidental overwrites.

4

if your current directory already has a .git folder, cloning into it won’t work. Git won’t merge repos. So always check ls -a before using . as the target.