There are several ways to clone repositories available on GitHub.
When you view a repository while signed in to your account, the URLs you can use to clone the project onto your computer are available below the repository details:
For information on setting or changing your remote URL, see "Changing a remote's URL."
Cloning with HTTPS URLs (recommended)
The https:// clone URLs are available on all repositories, public and private. These URLs work everywhere--even if you are behind a firewall or proxy.
When you git clone, git fetch, git pull, or git push to a remote repository using HTTPS URLs on the command line, you'll be asked for your GitHub Enterprise username and password.
Tips:
You can use a credential helper so Git will remember your GitHub username and password every time it talks to GitHub.
To clone a repository without authenticating to GitHub Enterprise on the command line, you can use GitHub Desktop to clone instead.
When 2FA is enabled
If you have two-factor authentication enabled, you must create a personal access token to use as a password when authenticating to GitHub Enterprise on the command line with HTTPS URLs.
For example, when you access a repository using Git on the command line using commands like git clone, git fetch, git pull or git push with HTTPS URLs, you must provide your GitHub Enterprise username and your personal access token when prompted for a username and password.
For more information on setting up two-factor authentication, see "Adding security to your account with two-factor authentication."
Cloning with SSH URLs
SSH URLs provide access to a Git repository via SSH, a secure protocol. To use these URLs, you must generate an SSH keypair on your computer and add the public key to your GitHub Enterprise account. For information on setting up an SSH keypair, see "Generating an SSH key."
When you git clone, git fetch, git pull, or git push to a remote repository using SSH URLs, you'll be prompted for a password and must provide your SSH key passphrase.
Tip: SSH URLs can be used locally, or as a secure way of deploying your code to production servers. You can also use SSH agent forwarding with your deploy script to avoid managing keys on the server.
Cloning with Subversion
You can also use a Subversion client to access any repository on GitHub. Subversion offers a vastly different feature set than Git; for a quick overview, see "What are the differences between Subversion and Git?"
We have a separate article with more information on how to interact with GitHub using Subversion.
