When clone a repository to desktop, does that include all branches or just master?

Question

When cloning a repository (master) to desktop, does that include all branches or just the master branch?

If not all branches cloned with master, if a copy of the branch is desired, can that be cloned separately? and must it be cloned to a separate folder (repo) on the desktop from the master?

Thank you

Syahrul · Answer

G'day, @mdenson

Welcome to the community!

When cloning a repository with Git, you copy the entire repository, including all branches, tags, and its full history. However, Git only checks out the default branch, such as "main," by default. To list the branches in your cloned repository, use the following command:

git branch -a

Regards,
Syahrul

Mikael Sandberg · Answer

Hi @mdenson,

Welcome to Atlassian Community!

Clones are always a complete copy of the repository unless you specify to only clone with a specific branch.