Difference between git clone and pull (2024)

GitHub is a collaborative code hosting platform. It primarily allows users to store their code on their website, which allows the GitHub community to explore code from around the globe. Moreover, it does not require signups for users to view, download, and learn about the code history. GitHub also features repositories, which allow users to collaborate in any of their codespaces.

Some of the GitHub essentials are:

Repositories: This is a space where users can store their code and other files.
Branches: This is used for version control. Every branch in a repository can be used to keep a different version of our project, which makes management simpler.
Commits: Changes in the repository that are saved are called commits.
Push: When we modify files from the repository on our local machines and want to reflect those changes on the repository, we create a push call. This push called "pushes" the files from the local machine to the GitHub repository (attending for conflicts if necessary).

Two more essentials are known as a clone request and a pull request. We will get into their comparison here forth.

What is git clone?

Cloning a repository to another location, i.e., our local machine creates an exact copy of all files at the time of the clone. Cloning also connects the local and GitHub repositories to allow further push and pull requests.

We can do this by opening our GitHub repository and copying the given URL link. Afterward, we can open our terminal and enter the URL preceded by the "git clone <URL>" command. An example has been shown below. Moreover, we also experiment with this terminal by using our repository.

What is git pull?

The pull request updates our local repository with new changes from the GitHub repository. It is a combination of git fetch and git merge. A fetch request is sent to the GitHub repository, where changes are fetched. Afterward, git merge merges the local repository with the fetched changes.

Before creating a pull request, we must have an established connection with a GitHub repository. Then we can use the "git pull <>" command and the URL link (from the GitHub repository) to create our pull request. An example has been given below.

Note: It is important to remember to call the pull request from within the local repository's directory.

Differences

We can jump into their differences now that we have explored both requests.

Git clone copies all files to the local machine, while git pull only copies the modified files to the local machine.
Git clone creates a connection between both repositories, while git pull requires a connection to be made before it can work.
Git clone is an individual request within itself, whereas git pull is a combination of git fetch followed by git merge.
Git clone has no chance of a conflict, whereas git pull requests can run into conflicts while pulling files.

Pictoral representation

Conclusion

GitHub is a very useful tool as it provides various command options for different requirements. Git clone and pull are useful in their own ways and fundamental to the GitHub experience. By understanding the purpose of both requests, we can better streamline our GitHub experience and workflow.