Clone the repo

Now you will download the admin project from GitHub to your Desktop so you can work with it locally.

What does "clone" mean?

Cloning a repository means downloading a full copy of a project from GitHub to your computer. It is not just downloading a ZIP file — it also includes the project's full history and makes it easy to stay in sync with updates.

Navigate to your Desktop

First, tell the Terminal to move to your Desktop folder. This is where the project will be downloaded:

cd ~/Desktop

The cd command stands for change directory — think of it like double-clicking a folder in Finder to open it. The ~ is a shortcut for your home folder, so ~/Desktop means the Desktop folder inside your home folder. You can also go back up one level with cd .. (like clicking the back button), or jump directly to a folder like cd ~/Downloads. If you ever get lost, cd ~ takes you back to your home folder.

Clone the project

Now, clone the admin project:

git clone https://github.com/dougdesigner/admin.git

You will see output like:

Cloning into 'admin'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 1234, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% ...

Wait until the command prompt (%) appears again. This means the download is complete.

Move into the project folder

Now move into the newly created project folder:

cd admin

If you downloaded the ZIP file instead of cloning, use cd admin-main (the folder name includes -main).

Verify the contents

List the files in the project to make sure everything was downloaded:

ls

You should see a list of files and folders including things like package.json, src, public, and others. This confirms the project was cloned successfully.

Think of ls as opening a Finder window for whatever folder you are currently in — it shows you what's inside without changing anything. It's a quick way to confirm you're in the right place before running other commands.