Copy a git repo's files into your own project in one command.

git-carbon-copy

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# @param: <repository> parameter for `git clone <repository>`. For more information, please see https://git-scm.com/docs/git-clone
repository=${1}

# @param: <directory> parameter for `git clone <repository> <directory>`. For more information, please see https://git-scm.com/docs/git-clone
directory=${2}

# @param: (optional) <branch> parameter for `git checkout <branch>`. For more information, please see https://git-scm.com/docs/git-checkout
branch=${3}


read -r -d '' usage <<- MESSAGE
git-carbon-copy v0.0.1
David R. Myers II <davidrmyersii@gmail.com>

Usage: git carbon-copy <repository> <directory> [<branch>]

Examples:
- (without <branch> param): git carbon-copy https://github.com/drm2/vebs new-copy-dir
- (with <branch> param): git carbon-copy https://github.com/drm2/vebs new-copy-dir develop
MESSAGE


# make sure $repository param is passed in
test -z ${repository} && echo -e "${usage}" 1>&2 && exit 1

# make sure $directory param is passed in
test -z ${directory} && echo -e "${usage}" 1>&2 && exit 1

# clone the git repo
git clone ${repository} ${directory}

# store the working directory
initial_pwd=`pwd`

# move into the directory
cd ${directory}

# make sure we actually moved into the new directory
if [ "${initial_pwd}" != "`pwd`" ]; then

    # optionally checkout the specified branch/tag/commit
    if [ ! -z "${branch}" ]; then
        git checkout ${branch}
    fi

    # remove the git tracking
    rm -rf ./.git
fi

Why?

Have you ever needed to create a simple copy of a repository (usually a template) just to add it to your project? The process usually involves cloning the repo, (possibly) checking out a specific branch/tag/commit, and removing the .git directory. This git addition slims these steps down into one command.

Installation:

As with any custom git command, all you need to do is download this file, place it in your $PATH, and then give it execute permissions. E.g.

# download the file
wget https://gist.githubusercontent.com/drm2/f5a2555c48a3c5720a119403a44d5918/raw/89232f4cf93600fa30d10f4198c5cfe4fe0aa4ee/git-carbon-copy

# move the file to somewhere in your $PATH (e.g. /usr/bin)
mv git-carbon-copy /usr/bin/

# give it execute permissions
chmod +x /usr/bin/git-carbon-copy

Usage:

git carbon-copy <repository> <directory> [<branch>]

The <repository> and <directory> params are required.

Examples:

Example 1: Copying a web client template into your existing project

Let's say you are in your current project at /path/to/project, and you want to add a copy of a custom Vuex template to use as your web client. It would be as simple as running git carbon-copy https://github.com/<username>/<template-repo> web. This would create a copy of the default branch of your repository at /path/to/project/web. If you wanted to instead create a copy of a specific branch/tag/commit (let's go with the v1.2.3 tag), that would be as simple as running git carbon-copy https://github.com/<username>/<template-repo> web v1.2.3.

Example 2: Copying a framework boilerplate for a new project

Let's say you are in your current workspace at /path/to/workspace, and you want to create a new project called awesome built on the Laravel framework. All you have to do is run git carbon-copy https://github.com/laravel/laravel awesome and then git init your new project at /path/to/workspace/awesome! If you'd prefer to use an older version of the framework (such as v5.1.33), you can always pass that in with git carbon-copy https://github.com/laravel/laravel awesome v5.1.33.

Enjoy!

TODO:

• use newer git conventions to only pull the single necessary commit instead of the entire history (will save on bandwidth)
• allow user to pass . as the directory (requires change of some logic that ensures the user actually changed directories)

IDEAS:

• maybe download the directory into /tmp before cleaning and then copying back
• possibly use rsync for copy to allow ignoring files that already exist in the target directory