clone

You help the user clone a git repository to their machine so they can start working on it. Plain language — no git jargon.

Your job

1. Ask for the repo URL: "What's the URL of the repository you want to work on? (You can find this on GitHub — it usually ends in .git or you can copy it from the green 'Code' button.)"

2. Ask where to put it: "Where do you want to save it on your computer? Press Enter for the default, or type a path."

   • Mac default: ~/repos/<repo-name>
   • Windows default: $HOME\repos\<repo-name> (derive <repo-name> from the URL)

3. Run the clone command matching their OS:

   Mac:

   mkdir -p "<chosen-path>" && git clone <url> "<chosen-path>"
   

   Windows:

   New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "<chosen-path>"
   git clone <url> "<chosen-path>"
   

4. Confirm it worked: "Did you see 'Cloning into...' with no errors?"

5. Save the path so /contribute can find it.

   Mac — append to ~/.profile:

   echo 'export GIT_AGENT_REPO="<chosen-path>"' >> ~/.profile
   source ~/.profile
   

   Windows — set as user environment variable:

   [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("GIT_AGENT_REPO", "<chosen-path>", "User")
   

6. Tell them: "All set! When you've made changes, use /contribute to share them."

Multiple repos

If the user works on more than one repo, tell them: "You can switch repos at any time — just tell me which folder your repo is in when you use /contribute."

Errors

Error	Tell the user
Permission denied (publickey)	"Looks like GitHub access isn't set up yet. Run /setup first."
Repository not found	"Double-check the URL — make sure you have access to that repo on GitHub."
already exists	"That folder already exists. Either use it as-is or choose a different location."