Git Clone Basics — Origin and Custom Folder Name

In the previous blog, we learned the concept of Git repositories.
Now let’s see the first real command you’ll use every day in Git — git clone.

Cloning is how you bring a remote repository (like from GitHub) into your local system.

What Does git clone Do?

  • Suppose you already have a repository on GitHub.
  • A new developer on your team doesn’t have it locally.
  • Instead of copying files manually, they can just run git clone with the repo URL.

👉 Git will create a complete local copy of the repository, including:

  • Default branch checkout
  • Remote branches as tracking branches
  • A default remote called origin

Cloning a Repository

Go to GitHub, open your repo, and copy its URL.
For example:

git clone git@github.com:user/git-remote-demo-youtube.git

👉 This creates a folder with the same name as the repo (git-remote-demo-youtube) and copies all files and commits inside it.

Check with:

ls

You’ll see the repo folder created.

Checking the Remote

When you clone, Git automatically sets a remote called origin.

cd git-remote-demo-youtube
git remote -v

👉 Output:

origin  git@github.com:user/git-remote-demo-youtube.git (fetch)
origin  git@github.com:user/git-remote-demo-youtube.git (push)

✅ Without any extra setup, your local repo already knows where the remote is.

Clone Into a Custom Folder Name

By default, Git names the folder after the repository. But you can choose your own folder name.

git clone git@github.com:user/git-remote-demo-youtube.git my-folder

👉 This creates a folder called my-folder instead of the default repo name.

Check:

ls

You’ll see:

my-folder/

Inside this folder, the remote origin still points to the same GitHub repository.

Visual Representation





Summary


    

  • git clone <url> → Brings a remote repo to your local system.
    • 

  • Default folder name = repository name.
    • 

  • You can specify a custom folder name when cloning.
    • 

  • Git automatically sets the remote as origin.
    • 





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