# Repository

URL: https://softwaredictionary.org/terms/repository
Category: Version Control
Last updated: 2026-09-30

In short: A repository is the storage location for a project, holding all of its files plus the complete history of every change recorded by a version control system.

## What is a repository in Git?

A repository, usually called a repo, is the home of a project under version control. It contains the project's files plus a record of every commit, branch, and tag, so you can see how the code has changed over time and recover any earlier version. In Git, this history lives in a hidden `.git` folder at the root of the project.

Git repositories come in two flavors. A local repository lives on your own computer, where you edit files and make commits. A remote repository is hosted on a server or a platform such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket, and it acts as the shared copy the team synchronizes with using `git push`, `git pull`, and `git fetch`. You create a new repository with `git init`, or copy an existing one, history included, with `git clone`.

A repository is like a library archive for a book that keeps not only the latest edition but every draft ever written, with notes on who changed what and why. Because Git is distributed, every clone is a complete repository with the full history, so work can continue even if the central server goes down.

People often use the word repository to mean the project page on a site like GitHub, but the repository is really the files plus their history, wherever they are stored. A repository is also different from a fork, which is a copy of someone else's repository under your own account. Package registries such as npm are sometimes loosely called repositories too, but they store published packages rather than source code history.

## Key takeaways

- A repository stores a project's files together with their complete change history.
- Git keeps that history in a hidden `.git` directory.
- Local repositories live on your machine; remote repositories are hosted for sharing.
- `git init` creates a new repository, and `git clone` copies an existing one.
- Every Git clone is a full repository, not just a snapshot of the latest files.

## Example: Creating, cloning, and inspecting repositories

```bash
# Create a new, empty repository in the current folder
git init

# Or copy an existing remote repository, including its full history
git clone https://github.com/example/my-project.git
cd my-project

# List the remote repositories this clone is connected to
git remote -v

# Download new commits from the remote without changing your files
git fetch origin
```

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the difference between a local and a remote repository?**

A local repository is the copy on your own computer, where you make commits. A remote repository is hosted elsewhere, such as on GitHub or a company server, and you sync with it using `git push` and `git pull`.

**What is the difference between cloning and forking a repository?**

Cloning downloads a copy of a repository to your computer with `git clone`. Forking is a hosting platform feature that creates a copy of someone else's repository under your own account on that platform, which you then usually clone to work on.

**What is a bare repository?**

A bare repository contains only Git's history data, without a working copy of the files, and is created with `git init --bare`. It is typically used on servers as a central repository that people push to and pull from.

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Software Dictionary: https://softwaredictionary.org/ · https://softwaredictionary.org/llms.txt