---
title: Local Git repositories
icon: folder
---

import GenericGitHost from '/snippets/schemas/v3/genericGitHost.schema.mdx'

Sourcebot can sync code from generic git repositories stored in a local directory. This can be helpful in scenarios where you already have a large number of repos already checked out. Local repositories are treated as **read-only**, meaning Sourcebot will **not** `git fetch` new revisions.

If you're not familiar with Sourcebot [connections](/docs/connections/overview), please read that overview first.

## Getting Started

<Warning>
Only folders containing git repositories at their root **and** have a `remote.origin.url` set in their git config are supported at this time. All other folders will be skipped.
</Warning>

Let's assume we have a `repos` directory located at `$(PWD)` with a collection of git repositories:

```sh
repos/
├─ repo_1/
├─ repo_2/
├─ repo_3/
├─ ...
```

To get Sourcebot to index these repositories:

<Steps>
    <Step title="Mount a volume">
        We need to mount a docker volume to the `repos` directory so Sourcebot can read it's contents. Sourcebot will **not** write to local repositories, so we can mount a separate **read-only** volume:

        ``` bash
        docker run \
            -v $(pwd)/repos:/repos:ro \
            /* additional args */ \
            ghcr.io/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot:latest
        ```
    </Step>

    <Step title="Create a connection">
        We can now create a new git [connection](/docs/connections/overview), specifying local paths with the `file://` prefix. Glob patterns are supported. For example: 

        ```json
        {
            "type": "git",
            "url": "file:///repos/*"
        }
        ```

        Sourcebot will expand this glob pattern into paths `/repos/repo_1`, `/repos/repo_2`, etc. and index all valid git repositories.
    </Step>
</Steps>

## Examples


<AccordionGroup>
    <Accordion title="Sync individual repo">
        ```json
        {
            "type": "git",
            "url": "file:///path/to/git_repo"
        }
        ```
    </Accordion>
    <Accordion title="Sync multiple repos using glob patterns">
        ```json
        // Attempt to sync directories contained in `repos/` (non-recursive)
        {
            "type": "git",
            "url": "file:///repos/*"
        }
        ```
    </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Schema reference

<Accordion title="Reference">
[schemas/v3/genericGitHost.json](https://github.com/sourcebot-dev/sourcebot/blob/main/schemas/v3/genericGitHost.json)

<GenericGitHost />

</Accordion>