Creating Repositories

Overview

In order to store and manage your files, you'll need to create a repository. Copia has no limitation on the number of repositories you can make or the size of each repository. You can create repositories from both the Web App and Desktop App.

If you are new to Git, we recommend getting started by storing a single project in a repository. It is always easier to merge repositories at a later time instead of breaking a repository apart.

Creating a Repository (Copia Web App)

Click the + button in the upper right-hand corner of any page on the Copia web app. Choose the New Repository option.

You can also create a repository from the Dashboard by clicking the + New Repository button on the repositories page.

Fill out the Repository Name and Description fields. Click the Create Repository button to continue.

You have the option to create your new repository from a preexisting template. To learn more about how and when to use templates, check out section on creating templates.

You should be redirected to your new repository.

Creating a Repository (Copia Desktop App)

When creating a repository with the Copia Desktop App, you can either create a new repository or add an existing, local repository.

Creating a New Repository

Creating a new repository will create a new empty local repository folder on your system. There are three ways that you can create a new repository:

• If you have no repositories already, you may be presented with an option to Create a New Repository on your hard drive...

• You can navigate to the File dropdown __ and choose the New Repository option

• If you have existing repositories, you can press the repository selector, press the Add button, and choose Create New Repository

Regardless of which route you take to create your repository, you will be presented a dialog where you will need to define the Name, Description, and Local Path. Copia recommends that you always initialize the repository with a README. After checking the option, press Create Repository button and your new repository folder will be created locally.

You'll note that by default, Copia initializes your new repository with LFS. You can learn more about Git-LFS here.

Adding an Existing/Local Repository

To add an existing local folder or repository to Copia, you can look to one of the following methods:

• If you have no repositories already, you may be presented with an option to Add an Existing Repository from your hard drive...

• You can select File -> Add local Repository...

• If you have existing repositories, you can press the repository selector, and then press the Add button and choose Add Existing Repository...

After choosing one of the above options, you will be given the option to choose the Local Path of the folder or existing repository.

If the folder is already a repository (perhaps it was copied from another system), simply click the Add Repository button.

If the folder is not already a Git repository, Copia will ask if you would like to make it a repository. In this case, select the Create a Repository link to continue to set this folder up as a repository.

Enter a Name, Description, and Local Path into the dialog. Copia recommends that you always initialize the repository with a README. After checking the option, click Create Repository button.

It is not recommended to store repositories in cloud-synced folders such as Google Drive or OneDrive

Your initialized repository should be viewable in the Desktop App. At this point, the new repository is only on your local machine and it is not registered in Copia's server. To push the repository to remote, you will need to click either of the Publish Repository buttons.