gitload

Download files, folders, or entire repos from GitHub URLs using the gitload CLI.

When to Use

Use gitload when:

Downloading a specific folder from a repo (not the whole repo)
Fetching a single file from GitHub
Downloading repo contents without git history
Creating a ZIP archive of GitHub content
Accessing private repos with authentication

Do NOT use gitload when:

Full git history is needed (use
```
git clone
```
instead)
The repo is already cloned locally
Working with non-GitHub repositories

Prerequisites

Run gitload via npx (no install needed):

npx gitload-cli https://github.com/user/repo

Or install globally:

npm install -g gitload-cli

Basic Usage

Download entire repo

gitload https://github.com/user/repo

Creates a

repo/

folder in the current directory.

Download a specific folder

gitload https://github.com/user/repo/tree/main/src/components

Creates a

components/

folder with just that folder's contents.

Download a single file

gitload https://github.com/user/repo/blob/main/README.md

Download to a custom location

gitload https://github.com/user/repo/tree/main/src -o ./my-source

Download contents flat to current directory

gitload https://github.com/user/repo/tree/main/templates -o .

Download as ZIP

gitload https://github.com/user/repo -z ./repo.zip

Authentication (for private repos or rate limits)

Using gh CLI (recommended)

gitload https://github.com/user/private-repo --gh

Requires prior

gh auth login

Using explicit token

gitload https://github.com/user/repo --token ghp_xxxx

Using environment variable

export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxxx
gitload https://github.com/user/repo

Token priority:

--token

GITHUB_TOKEN

--gh

URL Formats

gitload accepts standard GitHub URLs:

Repo root:
```
https://github.com/user/repo
```

Folder:

https://github.com/user/repo/tree/branch/path/to/folder

File:

https://github.com/user/repo/blob/branch/path/to/file.ext

Common Patterns

Scaffold from a template folder

gitload https://github.com/org/templates/tree/main/react-starter -o ./my-app
cd my-app && npm install

Grab example code

gitload https://github.com/org/examples/tree/main/authentication

Download docs for offline reading

gitload https://github.com/org/project/tree/main/docs -z ./docs.zip

Fetch a single config file

gitload https://github.com/org/configs/blob/main/.eslintrc.json -o .

Options Reference

Option	Description
`-o, --output <dir>`	Output directory (default: folder named after URL path)
`-z, --zip <path>`	Save as ZIP file at the specified path
`-t, --token <token>`	GitHub personal access token
`--gh`	Use token from gh CLI
`--no-color`	Disable colored output
`-h, --help`	Display help
`-V, --version`	Output version

Error Handling

If gitload fails:

404 errors: Verify the URL exists and is accessible
Rate limit errors: Add authentication with
```
--gh
```
or
```
--token
```
Permission errors: For private repos, ensure token has
```
repo
```
scope
Network errors: Check internet connectivity

Notes

gitload downloads content via GitHub's API, not git protocol
No git history is preserved (use
```
git clone
```
if history is needed)
Large repos may take time; consider downloading specific folders
Output directory is created if it doesn't exist

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gitload

When to Use

Prerequisites

Basic Usage

Download entire repo

Download a specific folder

Download a single file

Download to a custom location

Download contents flat to current directory

Download as ZIP

Authentication (for private repos or rate limits)

Using gh CLI (recommended)

Using explicit token

Using environment variable

URL Formats

Common Patterns

Scaffold from a template folder

Grab example code

Download docs for offline reading

Fetch a single config file

Options Reference

Error Handling

Notes

Quick Start

Manual Installation

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