How do I clone a Git repository into a specific folder?

To clone a Git repository into a specific folder, append the target directory name to the git clone command. Here’s how:

Basic Syntax

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

Example:

git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git ./my-project

• Clones the repository into the folder my-project (created if it doesn’t exist).
• If my-project already exists, it must be empty—otherwise, Git will throw an error.

Key Notes

1. Target Directory Must Be Empty or Nonexistent
   Git will fail if the target directory exists and is not empty. To force overwrite, delete the directory first:

   rm -rf my-project && git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git my-project

2. Use Absolute or Relative Paths

   git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git /absolute/path/to/dir
   git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git ../relative/path

3. Spaces in Directory Names
   Wrap the path in quotes:

   git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git "My Project Folder"

Cloning into the Current Directory

You can clone into the current folder (.) if it’s empty:

mkdir my-project && cd my-project
git clone https://github.com/user/repo.git .

Example Workflow

# Clone into a specific directory
git clone https://github.com/axios/axios.git ./http-client

# Verify
cd http-client
ls  # Shows cloned files (e.g., package.json, README.md)

Troubleshooting

• Error: fatal: destination path already exists and is not an empty directory
  Delete the existing directory or choose a different name.
• Permission Issues
  Ensure you have write access to the target directory.

By specifying the directory explicitly, you control where Git clones the repository.