Open, Clone, and Init

Last updated: April 2025

Whether you are a newborn or a wizened deep-ocean octopod, each user will need to open, clone, or initialize a repo in GitKraken Desktop.

Setup

The essential setup process includes:

1. Installing GitKraken Desktop
2. Creating an account and setting up your profile

Once this is complete, you are ready for your oceanic journey!

Repository Management

The Repo Management tab provides an overview of your active repositories, Workspaces, and favorite repositories. To access the Repo Management tab, either click on the folder icon located at the top left or utilize the keyboard shortcut Alt + O (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + O (Mac).

At the top left corner, you’ll find three options for managing Git repositories within your projects:

1. Browse – Open a local Git repository already initialized and available locally.
2. Clone – Clone a remote Git repository already initialized.
3. Init – Create an empty Git repository or reinitialize an existing one.

Additionally, you can create a new Workspace and manage your integrations.

In the Repo Management tab you will find a list of your active repos (Open Repositories), your favorites (Favorites) and your Workspaces.

For each repo, you have three available actions:

• Open repository in VS Code.
• Open repository details (this toggles a panel with the README.md content)
• Open/Close repo tab.

Opening an existing project

GitKraken Desktop allows you to load your existing repositories and pick up where you left off. It’s also useful for visualizing past work done.

From the Repository Management window, select Browse to open a file explorer window and select the repository folder to open it in Gitkraken Desktop.

Alternatively, click the + icon to open a New Tab and access the Browse button from there.

Cloning an existing project

If your project is not on your local machine or you want a new copy, clone the project from the Repository Management window by selecting Clone.

Alternatively, you may also clone from File > Clone or from the New Tab view. No matter how you access the Clone option, you’ll be prompted to open the newly copied project in GitKraken Desktop.

Initialize a new project

There are a few ways to initialize a new repo.

From the Repository Management window, just hit the Init button.

All you need to do is fill out the fields and select Create Repository for the magic to begin.

You may also initialize a repo from File > Init or from the New Tab view.

Input

• New repository path

• .gitignore template (optional)

  • Automatically creates a .gitignore file in your working copy.

• License (optional)

  • On init, GitKraken Desktop will create a LICENSE file in your repository.
  • Check out the Open Source Initiative or find out more about Choosing a License.

Output

• A new initialized Git project at the specified repository path by creating a .git folder.
• The project is opened in GitKraken Desktop

• An “Initial commit” on a main branch containing a blank README.md along with a .gitignore and LICENSE.md if applicable.

  GitKraken Desktop also allows initializing a repository directly to a remote Git hosting provider such as GitHub and Bitbucket.

Customize your Repository Management tab

• Reorder repository groups by dragging and dropping the header to create a more organized list.
• Change the color of a group by selecting Change color in the three-dot menu of any repo group.
• Set a default color for Workspaces and other groups in Preferences > UI Customization.