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Software Engineering vocabulary · Version Control

Clone

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/kloʊn/verbCommon term

In software engineering, clone means: To download a full copy of a remote repository, including its history, to your own computer so that you can work on it.

In Turkish: klonlamak, yerel kopyasını almak, kopyalamak

How it is used

Usually the first step on a new project: 'Clone the repo and follow the README.' You clone over HTTPS or SSH. 'Fork' is different: it creates your own copy of the repository on the server.

Example sentences

  1. Clone the repository and run the setup script; it installs everything you need.

  2. I couldn't clone the project because my SSH key wasn't added yet.

Common collocations

  • clone a repository
  • clone over SSH
  • clone the repo
  • git clone
  • repositoryA storage place for a project's code and its full history of changes, usually managed with Git and often hosted online.
  • pushTo send your local commits to a shared remote repository, so that other people and automated systems can see them.
  • branchA separate line of development in a repository, where you can work on changes without affecting the main code until you are ready to merge.
  • check outIn Git, to switch your working files to a particular branch or commit so that you can see or work on that version of the code.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Version Control

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