DOKK / manpages / debian 12 / git-extras / git-force-clone.1.en
GIT-FORCE-CLONE(1) Git Extras GIT-FORCE-CLONE(1)

git-force-clone - overwrite local repositories with clone

force-clone --help
force-clone {remote_url} {destination_path}
force-clone --branch {branch_name} {remote_url} {destination_path}

Provides the basic functionality of git clone, but if the destination git repository already exists it will force-reset it to resemble a clone of the remote.

Because it doesn't actually delete the directory, it is usually significantly faster than the alternative of deleting the directory and cloning the repository from scratch.

CAUTION: If the repository exists, this will destroy all local work: changed files will be reset, local branches and other remotes will be removed.

If target-directory doesn't exist or isn't a git repository then the arguments will simply be passed through to git clone.

If target-directory exists and is a git repository then this will:

Remove all remotes
Set the origin remote to {remote_url} and fetch the remote
Discover the default branch, if no branch was specified
Check out the selected branch
Delete all other local branches

{remote_url} - The URL for a git remote repository of which to make a clone. {destination_path} - A path to the local git repository location to clone into. --branch {branch_name} - After cloning, checkout this branch.

git-force-clone -b master git@github.com:me/repo.git ./repo_dir

Written by Robin Winslow robin@robinwinslow.co.uk.

https://github.com/tj/git-extras/issues

https://github.com/tj/git-extras

October 2022