gitclone

Clone Git repository

Since R2023b

Syntax

repo = gitclone(repositoryURL)

repo = gitclone(repositoryURL,folder)

repo = gitclone(___,Name=Value)

Description

repo = gitclone(repositoryURL) clones the Git™ remote repository repositoryURL into the current folder and returns a matlab.git.GitRepository object.

repo = gitclone(repositoryURL,folder) clones the Git remote repository repositoryURL into the specified folder folder and returns a matlab.git.GitRepository object.

repo = gitclone(___,Name=Value) specifies additional options as one or more name-value arguments.

Examples

Clone Git Repository in Current Folder

Clone a repository in the current folder.

repo = gitclone("https://github.com/domain/examplerepo")

repo = 

  GitRepository with properties:

     WorkingFolder: "C:\myWorkSpace\examplerepo"
         GitFolder: "C:\myWorkSpace\examplerepo\.git"
     CurrentBranch: [1×1 GitBranch]  (main)
        LastCommit: [1×1 GitCommit]  (3fa5e35)
           Remotes: [2×1 GitRemote] (origin trunk)
     ModifiedFiles: [0×1 string]
    UntrackedFiles: [0×1 string]
            IsBare: 0
         IsShallow: 0
        IsDetached: 0
        IsWorktree: 0

To clone a private repository, specify your login information for the Git repository account, for example GitHub^®. For more information, see Clone Token-Protected Private Repository.

Clone Token-Protected Private Repository

Clone a private repository hosted on GitHub.

url = "https://github.com/domain/examplerepo";
repo = gitclone(url,Username="user",Token=getSecret("GITHUB_TOKEN"))

repo = 

  GitRepository with properties:

     WorkingFolder: "C:\myWorkSpace\examplerepo"
         GitFolder: "C:\myWorkSpace\examplerepo\.git"
     CurrentBranch: [1×1 GitBranch]  (main)
        LastCommit: [1×1 GitCommit]  (3fa5e35)
           Remotes: [2×1 GitRemote] (origin trunk)
     ModifiedFiles: [0×1 string]
    UntrackedFiles: [0×1 string]
            IsBare: 0
         IsShallow: 0
        IsDetached: 0
        IsWorktree: 0

If you are cloning a repository using SSH keys, see Clone Repository Using SSH Keys instead.

Clone Git Repository in Specified Folder

Clone a repository in the specified folder.

mkdir("newrepo");
url = "https://github.com/domain/examplerepo";
repo = gitclone(url,"newrepo\")

repo = 

  GitRepository with properties:

     WorkingFolder: "C:\myWorkSpace\newrepo"
         GitFolder: "C:\myWorkSpace\newrepo\.git"
     CurrentBranch: [1×1 GitBranch]  (main)
        LastCommit: [1×1 GitCommit]  (3fa5e35)
           Remotes: [2×1 GitRemote] (origin trunk)
     ModifiedFiles: [0×1 string]
    UntrackedFiles: [0×1 string]
            IsBare: 0
         IsShallow: 0
        IsDetached: 0
        IsWorktree: 0

Shallow Clone Git Repository

Clone only the most recent commit.

url = "https://github.com/domain/examplerepo";
repo = gitclone(url,Depth=1);

Verify that the clone is shallow.

repo.IsShallow

ans =

  logical

   1

Clone Repository Using SSH Keys

You can clone a repository using SSH.

You must first configure MATLAB^® to use Git SSH authentication. For more information, see Configure MATLAB to Use Git SSH Authentication.

Clone a repository hosted on GitHub using SSH keys.

sshUrl = "[e-mail]:user/examplerepo.git.";
gitclone(sshUrl);

If the SSH key is passphrase-protected, specify the SSHKeyPassphrase argument.

gitclone(sshUrl,SSHUsername="user",SSHKeyPassphrase=getSecret("SSH_PASS"));

Clone Single Branch from Repository

Clone only the FeatureB branch from the Git repository.

url = "https://github.com/domain/examplerepo";
gitclone(url,Branch="FeatureB",SingleBranch=true);

Input Arguments

repositoryURL — URL of remote repository

string scalar

HTTPS or SSH URL of the remote repository, specified as a string scalar.

folder — Path of folder

character vector | string scalar

Path of the folder in which the function clones the repository, specified as a character vector or string scalar.

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Example: gitclone(url,Username="myusername",Token="mypersonaltoken",Depth=10)

Username — Username for Git repository account

character vector | string scalar

Username for the Git repository account, specified as a character vector or string scalar.

SSH and Token based authentication are not compatible. Specify either SSHKeyPassphrase and SSHUsername, or Username and Token.

Data Types: char | string

Token — Personal access token for Git repository account

character vector | string scalar

Personal access token for the Git repository account, specified as a character vector or string scalar.

SSH and Token based authentication are not compatible. Specify either SSHKeyPassphrase and SSHUsername, or Username and Token.

Data Types: char | string

SSHUsername — Username for Git repository account

character vector | string scalar

Since R2026a

Username for the Git repository account associate with the SSH key, specified as a character vector or string scalar.

SSH and Token based authentication are not compatible. Specify either SSHKeyPassphrase and SSHUsername, or Username and Token.

Data Types: char | string

SSHKeyPassphrase — Passphrase of SSH key for Git repository account

character vector | string scalar

Since R2026a

Passphrase of the used SSH key for the Git repository account, specified as a character vector or string scalar.

SSH and Token based authentication are not compatible. Specify either SSHKeyPassphrase and SSHUsername, or Username and Token.

Data Types: char | string

Depth — Depth of shallow clone

0 (default) | non-negative integer

Depth of the shallow clone, specified as a non-negative integer.

If you do not specify the depth, gitclone performs a full clone. Otherwise, gitclone clones only the number of commits specified by Depth.

Data Types: single

RecurseSubmodules — Option to clone Git submodules recursively

true or 1 (default) | false or 0

Option to clone Git submodules recursively, specified as a numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false).

Data Types: logical

Branch — Name of branch

string scalar | character vector

Since R2026a

Name of the branch to switch to after clone, specified as a string scalar or a character vector.

If you do not specify the branch name, gitclone clones the default branch, usually called "main".

Example: "BugIssue1032", 'FeatureB'

Data Types: char | string

SingleBranch — Option to clone a single Git branch from the repository

true or 1 (default if Depth is set) | false or 0

Since R2026a

Option to clone a single Git branch from the repository, specified as a numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false).

Data Types: logical

Output Arguments

repo — Git repository

matlab.git.GitRepository object

Git repository, returned as a matlab.git.GitRepository object.

Version History

Introduced in R2023b

R2026a: New argument to specify SSH passphrase

You can specify the SSH passphrase when you programmatically interact with a Git repository using the gitclone, fetch, push, and pull functions.

sshUrl = "[e-mail]:user/examplerepo.git.";
gitclone(sshUrl,SSHUsername="user",SSHKeyPassphrase=getSecret("SSH_PASS"));

R2026a: New argument to clone and switch to specific branch

You can clone and switch a branch in a single command using the Branch argument.

url = "https://github.com/domain/examplerepo";
gitclone(url,Branch="FeatureB");

R2026a: New argument to clone single branch

You can clone a single branch from the repository using the SingleBranch argument.

url = "https://github.com/domain/examplerepo";
gitclone(url,Branch="FeatureB",SingleBranch=true);