clone - Repository Cloning

The clone command clones the Nixopus repository with basic configuration options. By default, it clones the main Nixopus repository to a configured local path.

Quick Start

# Clone with default settings (from config)
nixopus clone

# Clone specific branch
nixopus clone --branch develop

# Clone from custom repository
nixopus clone --repo https://github.com/yourfork/nixopus.git

# Preview clone operation
nixopus clone --dry-run

Overview

The clone command provides basic Git repository cloning functionality with configuration-driven defaults for the Nixopus repository.

Command Syntax

nixopus clone [OPTIONS]

Options

Option	Short	Description	Default
--repo	-r	Repository URL to clone	https://github.com/raghavyuva/nixopus
--branch	-b	Branch to clone	master
--path	-p	Local path for cloning	/etc/nixopus/source
--force	-f	Force clone (overwrite existing directory)	false
--verbose	-v	Show detailed logging	false
--output	-o	Output format	text
--dry-run	-d	Preview clone operation without executing	false
--timeout	-t	Operation timeout in seconds	10

Examples:

# Basic clone with default configuration
nixopus clone

# Clone specific branch
nixopus clone --branch develop

# Clone from custom repository
nixopus clone --repo https://github.com/yourfork/nixopus.git

# Clone to custom path with force overwrite
nixopus clone --path /opt/nixopus --force

# Preview operation without executing
nixopus clone --dry-run --verbose

# Clone with increased timeout
nixopus clone --timeout 30

Configuration

The clone command reads configuration values from the built-in config.prod.yaml file. Command-line options override these defaults.

Default Configuration Values

Setting	Default Value	Configuration Path	Description
Repository URL	https://github.com/raghavyuva/nixopus	clone.repo	The Git repository to clone
Branch	master	clone.branch	The Git branch to clone
Clone Path	{nixopus-config-dir}/source	clone.source-path	Local directory for cloning (relative to config dir)
Config Directory	/etc/nixopus	nixopus-config-dir	Base configuration directory
Timeout	10 seconds	N/A	Operation timeout (hardcoded default)

Configuration Source

The configuration is loaded from the built-in config.prod.yaml file packaged with the CLI. This file contains environment variable placeholders that can be overridden:

# Built-in configuration (from config.prod.yaml)
nixopus-config-dir: /etc/nixopus
clone:
  repo: "https://github.com/raghavyuva/nixopus"
  branch: "master"
  source-path: source

Overriding Configuration

You can override defaults using command-line options only:

# Override repository URL
nixopus clone --repo https://github.com/yourfork/nixopus.git

# Override branch
nixopus clone --branch develop

# Override clone path (absolute path)
nixopus clone --path /opt/nixopus

# Override multiple options
nixopus clone --repo https://github.com/yourfork/nixopus.git --branch develop --path /custom/path

Note: The clone command does not support user configuration files or environment variable overrides for these settings. Configuration is handled internally through the built-in config file.

Behavior

1. Validates repository URL and accessibility
2. Checks if destination path exists
3. Removes existing directory if --force is used
4. Clones repository using Git
5. Reports success or failure

Dry Run Mode

Use --dry-run to preview what the command would do without making changes:

nixopus clone --dry-run --repo custom-repo.git --branch develop

This shows the planned actions without executing them.

Error Handling

Common error scenarios and solutions:

Error	Cause	Solution
Repository not accessible	Network issues, invalid URL, or authentication required	Check network connection, verify repository URL, or configure Git credentials
Destination path already exists	Directory exists at clone path	Use --force to overwrite or choose different --path
Invalid branch or repository URL	Branch doesn't exist or URL is malformed	Verify branch exists and URL is correct
Permission denied	Insufficient permissions for destination path	Use sudo nixopus clone or choose a path with write permissions
Timeout exceeded	Clone taking longer than specified timeout	Increase timeout with --timeout option or check network speed

Permission Issues

If you encounter permission errors when cloning to system directories:

# Use sudo for system-wide installation
sudo nixopus clone --path /opt/nixopus

# Or clone to user directory (recommended)
nixopus clone --path ~/nixopus

Note: When using sudo, the cloned repository will be owned by root. Consider using user directories unless system-wide installation is required.