git sidecar clone

git sidecar clone <repo-url> [<directory>] [--name <nickname>] [--standalone]

git sidecar clone clones a repo into the parent repository and registers it as a sidecar — creating the config file if it doesn’t exist yet. The nickname and directory both default to the repository name from the URL:

# Clones into ./foobar, registers as [sidecars.foobar]
git sidecar clone git@github.com:example/foobar.git

# Clones into .vendor/fb, registers as [sidecars.fb]
git sidecar clone git@github.com:example/foobar.git .vendor/fb --name fb

The directory is resolved relative to where you run the command (like git clone), and the stored mapping is computed relative to the parent repo root. If the nickname or mapping is already taken, or the target directory is non-empty, the command refuses and changes nothing. Existing config file content is preserved — the new entry is appended.

New sidecars are cloned in the unified layout by default. Pass --standalone to clone the traditional way (.git inside the mapping directory) and record standalone = true in the config.

clone also adds the new directory to the parent repo’s exclude file.