Repository Creation and Cloning Guide

What This Guide Covers

Once you have a GitHub account (see the GitHub Setup Guide), the next step is creating a repository — a project folder that Git tracks. If you’ll also work with the files on your own machine, you then clone it, so you have a local copy to work in.

Prerequisites

To create a repository (section 1):

A GitHub account

That’s all. Creating a repository happens entirely in your browser — nothing to install. If a hosted agent or automation is the only thing that will touch this repository, you can stop after section 1.

Additionally, to clone it to your machine (sections 2 and 3):

Git installed (see Git Installation Guide)
GitHub CLI authenticated (see GitHub Setup Guide)
Cursor or VS Code installed (see Editor Setup Guide)

1. Create a Repository

From GitHub, click the + button (top-right corner) → New repository
Enter a repository name (e.g., my-ai-projects)
Add an optional description
Select Private (recommended for personal work)
Check Add a README file
Click Create repository

You’ll land on your new repository’s page with a README file. The URL in your browser (e.g., https://github.com/your-username/my-ai-projects) is what you’ll use to clone it in the next step.

2. Clone a Repository

Download (clone) a repository from GitHub using whichever tool you’re working in.

In Cursor or VS Code

Open the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P)
Type Git: Clone
Paste the repository URL (e.g., https://github.com/username/project-name.git)
Choose a local folder location
Open the cloned repository when prompted

In Claude Desktop (Code tab)

If you’re working in the Claude Desktop app without a separate code editor, you can clone a repo by asking Claude to do it for you. Because you installed and authenticated the GitHub CLI in the GitHub Setup Guide, Claude can use gh on your behalf.

Open Claude Desktop and click the Code tab
Start a new session and pick (or create) a local folder you want the repo cloned into
In the chat box, paste a prompt like:

Clone https://github.com/username/project-name.git into this folder.
Approve the command when Claude asks for permission to run gh repo clone (or git clone)
When it finishes, open Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows) and navigate to the folder you chose — you should see the cloned repo there

3. Verify the Clone Worked

After cloning, confirm the repository is on your machine:

Check the sidebar in your editor — you should see the project’s files and folders
Open the integrated terminal (Ctrl + `) and run:

git status

You should see a message like On branch main — this confirms the repository was cloned correctly and Git is tracking it.

Troubleshooting

Can’t create the repository?

Make sure you’re signed in to GitHub
Repository names must be unique within your account — try a different name if you get a conflict

Can’t clone the repository?

Verify you have access to the repository
Check that the URL is correct
Make sure you’re signed into GitHub in your editor

Authentication issues?

Your editor may prompt you to sign into GitHub
Follow the browser authentication flow when prompted
If you’re cloning as an automation or hosted agent rather than yourself, it needs a fine-grained personal access token, not gh auth login

Ask AI for help

If you’re stuck, paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini:

I’m trying to create/clone a GitHub repository in [Cursor / VS Code] on [Mac / Windows] and getting this error: [paste the error message]. I have Git installed, a GitHub account, and the GitHub CLI authenticated. What should I try?

## Next Steps

Try cloning a public repository to practice the workflow
Set up your AI platform (see Platforms)