Cloning a repository

HTTPS, SSH or a folder on the same Mac, and where the credentials go.

File ▸ Clone Repository… (⌘L) takes a URL and makes a local copy of the repository it points at.

Three kinds of source work:

  • HTTPS — https://github.com/owner/project.git
  • SSH — git@github.com:owner/project.git
  • A local path — another repository on the same Mac, which is a genuinely useful thing to clone when you want somewhere to experiment against real history.

The folder name

Innesta suggests a folder name from the URL — project.git becomes project — and you can change it before cloning. What you choose is the working copy’s folder name; it does not affect the repository’s name on the server.

Credentials

A private repository needs authentication, and where it comes from depends on the URL:

  • HTTPS asks for a username and a personal access token, and keeps them in the macOS Keychain. You are asked once.
  • SSH uses the keys ssh already has. If a key has a passphrase, Innesta asks for it and can keep that in the Keychain too. A server your Mac has never reached asks a question before any of that, and Innesta puts it to you rather than answering it.

A connected GitHub or GitLab account does not stand in for either. That token is used for reading pull requests and pipelines, and is kept as its own Keychain item; the credential Git itself uses when it fetches and pushes is a separate one, and is the one asked for here.