I guess for this I do have found a solution which chatGPT gave me.
Solution | Creating a script ,cloning into ~/src/tools and symlink to ~/bin.
how do i clone with git different repositories in the same source
ChatGPT said:
If by “clone different repositories in the same source” you mean having multiple Git repositories inside one top-level directory, there are a few legitimate patterns depending on what you want to accomplish. Below is a precise breakdown.
1. Multiple independent clones inside the same parent directory
This is the simplest and most common.
mkdir src
cd src
git clone https://github.com/org/repo1.git
git clone https://github.com/org/repo2.git
git clone https://github.com/org/repo3.git
After this, you have:
src/
repo1/
repo2/
repo3/
Each directory is a fully independent Git repository.
2. Cloning into specific subdirectories
If you want a custom directory structure:
git clone https://github.com/org/repo1.git components/frontend
git clone https://github.com/org/repo2.git components/backend
Git simply initializes the repo in the directory you provide.
3. A repository containing other repositories as submodules
Use when one “main” repo needs to track the exact versions of other repos:
git clone https://github.com/org/main-repo.git
cd main-repo
git submodule add https://github.com/org/lib1.git libs/lib1
git submodule add https://github.com/org/lib2.git libs/lib2
git commit -m "Add lib1 and lib2 as submodules"
To clone the top-level repo including submodules:
git clone --recursive https://github.com/org/main-repo.git
Use submodules when you need a stable, version-controlled reference to external repos.
4. A repository containing other repositories via Git subtrees
Subtrees copy the contents of another repo into a folder while retaining merge history, without requiring submodule commands.
git remote add lib1 https://github.com/org/lib1.git
git subtree add --prefix=libs/lib1 lib1 main --squash
Subtrees are easier for users of the consolidated repo but require more maintenance when syncing both ways.
5. Cloning many repositories at once (automation)
Example using Bash:
#!/bin/bash
repos=(
"https://github.com/org/repo1.git"
"https://github.com/org/repo2.git"
"https://github.com/org/repo3.git"
)
mkdir -p src
cd src
for r in "${repos[@]}"; do
git clone "$r"
done
Summary guidance
Choose the pattern depending on intent:
| Goal |
Recommended Approach |
| Keep multiple repos in the same directory with no relationship |
Standard cloning into subdirectories |
| One repo must track versions of others |
Submodules |
| One repo should include another repo’s content directly |
Subtrees |
| Clone many repos automatically |
Script |
| Option |
Clean? |
Recommended? |
Notes |
Clone directly into ~/bin or ~/.local/bin |
Low |
No |
Repos become mixed with executables |
Clone repos into ~/src/tools and symlink into ~/bin |
High |
Yes |
The standard model |
| Add repo’s own bin/ into PATH |
Medium |
Good for some repos |
Flexible |
If you describe your exact use case (e.g., monorepo layout, CI integration, workspace management), I can give a more targeted solution.
You said:
Yes I would like to clone different tools from different git repositories into the ~/bin or ~/.local/bin location. This way i can call the scripts without knowing the full path to it.
ChatGPT said:
Understood. You want to clone several Git repositories directly into a directory that is already in your PATH (e.g., ~/bin or ~/.local/bin) so that the cloned tools’ executables or scripts are callable without specifying their full paths.
Below is what you need to consider and the correct ways to do it.
1. Recommended: Clone repos elsewhere, symlink the executables into ~/bin
This is the safest and cleanest pattern.
Why?
- Most Git repos contain many files; you do not want to mix their content directly next to your binaries.
- Updating repos becomes safer (no accidental overwrites).
- You maintain a clean, organized
$HOME.
Pattern:
mkdir -p ~/src/tools
cd ~/src/tools
git clone https://github.com/org/tool1.git
git clone https://github.com/org/tool2.git
Then link the actual executable the repo provides:
ln -s ~/src/tools/tool1/tool1.sh ~/.local/bin/tool1
ln -s ~/src/tools/tool2/app.py ~/.local/bin/tool2
Or if the repo has a “bin” folder:
ln -s ~/src/tools/tool1/bin/tool1 ~/.local/bin/
Your PATH usually already includes ~/.local/bin, so you can run:
tool1
tool2
This is the standard workflow for user-installed CLI tools.
2. Less recommended but possible: Clone directly into ~/bin or ~/.local/bin
You can clone directly into a subdirectory inside your bin directory.
Example:
cd ~/.local/bin
git clone https://github.com/org/tool1.git
git clone https://github.com/org/tool2.git
But now you will have:
~/.local/bin/
tool1/
tool2/
Important: The executables inside these repos are NOT automatically in your PATH unless you export deeper paths or symlink them.
You still need symlinks:
ln -s ~/.local/bin/tool1/tool1.sh ~/.local/bin/tool1
Why this is not ideal:
- You pollute
~/.local/bin with repo directories.
- Some repos expect relative paths within the repo and may break if executed from another directory.
3. If the repos contain many executables: add their internal bin/ folder to your PATH
Some projects expose a bin/ directory inside the repo. You can do:
git clone https://github.com/org/mytool ~/.local/share/mytool
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/share/mytool/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
Then reload:
source ~/.bashrc
This works well for multi-tool repos.
4. Automation example (clone + symlink)
A small script to automate your workflow:
#!/bin/bash
DEST=~/src/tools
BINDIR=~/.local/bin
mkdir -p "$DEST"
mkdir -p "$BINDIR"
declare -A repos=(
["tool1"]="https://github.com/org/tool1.git"
["tool2"]="https://github.com/org/tool2.git"
)
cd "$DEST"
for tool in "${!repos[@]}"; do
repo="${repos[$tool]}"
git clone "$repo" "$tool"
# assuming executable is $tool/$tool
if [ -f "$DEST/$tool/$tool" ]; then
ln -sf "$DEST/$tool/$tool" "$BINDIR/$tool"
fi
done
Recommended Approach Summary
| Option |
Clean? |
Recommended? |
Notes |
Clone directly into ~/bin or ~/.local/bin |
Low |
No |
Repos become mixed with executables |
Clone repos into ~/src/tools and symlink into ~/bin |
High |
Yes |
The standard model |
| Add repo’s own bin/ into PATH |
Medium |
Good for some repos |
Flexible |
If you tell me which specific tools and repos you plan to install, I can provide exact symlink commands or an installer script tailored for your environment.
End of ChatGPT 
This has the advantage, that I can have small git repositories which I can introduce in a personal blog or blog-post, to other users and asking to propose changes to improve my work with a pull request (learning by doing and try to take away the fear of git)
I will mark this answer as Soluton for the topic. But feel free, to add a block-quote to the main Request, if you want to introduce your own tools, I will change it to a wiki so more users can edit it.
