How do I clone all remote branches with Git?

To clone all remote branches in Git and set up local tracking branches, follow these steps:

1. Clone the Repository

git clone <repository-url>
cd <repository-directory>

2. Fetch All Remote Branches

git fetch --all  # Retrieves all branches from the remote

3. List All Remote Branches

git branch -r  # Shows remote branches (e.g., origin/main, origin/feature)

4. Create Local Branches Tracking All Remote Branches

Method 1: Loop Through Branches

git branch -r | grep -v '\->' | while read remote; do
  git branch --track "${remote#origin/}" "$remote"
done

Method 2: Checkout Each Branch

# For each remote branch (excluding HEAD), create a local branch:
for branch in $(git for-each-ref --format='%(refname:short)' refs/remotes/origin); do
  git checkout -b "${branch#origin/}" "$branch"
done

5. Verify Local Branches

git branch -a  # Lists all local and remote branches

Example Workflow

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git
cd repo

# Fetch all branches
git fetch --all

# Create local branches for all remote branches
git branch -r | grep -v '\->' | while read remote; do
  git branch --track "${remote#origin/}" "$remote"
done

# Switch back to the default branch (e.g., main)
git checkout main

Key Notes

• Remote Name: Replace origin with your remote name (e.g., upstream).
• Tracking Branches: Local branches will track their remote counterparts.
• Avoid Conflicts: Skip branches named HEAD (handled by grep -v '\->').

Troubleshooting

• If you cloned with --single-branch, re-fetch all branches:

  git config remote.origin.fetch "+refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*"
  git fetch --all

Alternative: One-Liner

git clone <url> && cd <repo> && git fetch --all && git branch -r | grep -v '\->' | while read r; do git branch "${r#origin/}" "$r"; done

Now all remote branches exist locally, and you can switch to them with git checkout <branch-name>.