_____       _
/  ___|     (_)
\ `--. _ __  _ _ __
 `--. \ '_ \| | '_ \
/\__/ / | | | | |_) |
\____/|_| |_|_| .__/
              | |
              |_|
              get just what you need.

Snip is a command-line tool that lets you download a specific folder or file from a GitHub repository without cloning the entire project.

If you only need one example, one subfolder, or a single config file, Snip gets it for you directly.

• Download a specific folder or a single file

• Works for both public and private GitHub repositories

• No Git clone - uses the GitHub REST API directly

• Messages for rate limits and large repositories

• Automatically detects the repo’s default branch

• Built with Cobra for a clean CLI

Install it from the sources:

git clone https://github.com/mukailasam/snip
cd snip
go install

Install it from the repository:

go install github.com/mukailasam/snip

🗂️ Snip a folder

$ snip repo github.com/mukailasam/codelab --dir linear

📄 Snip a single file

$ snip repo github.com/mukailasam/codelab --file avl.go

📂 Specify a destination (optional)

$ snip repo github.com/mukailasam/codelab --dir array --dest /users/sam/desktop/workspace/temp

If you don’t specify a destination using --dest, Snip saves the result in your current working directory.

To access private repositories, set your token via environment variable:

macOS / Linux (bash/zsh)
export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_xxxxxxxxx

Windows PowerShell
$env:GITHUB_TOKEN = "ghp_xxxxxxxxx"

Snip automatically detects your token and uses it for private repo access.

Snip commands accept the following flags:

| Flag       | Description                                                  | Example              |
|------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|
| `--dir`    | Name of the directory to snip from the repo                  | `--dir cmd`          |
| `--file`   | Name of the file to snip from the repo.                      | `--file go.mod`      |
| `--branch` | Branch to use (optional).                                    | `--branch main`      |
| `--dest`   | Destination directory to save downloaded content (optional). | `--dest ./downloads` |

cmd/
├── helper.go
├── root.go         # Cobra CLI entrypoint
├── repo.go         # Handles 'snip repo' command
internal/
├── provider/
│   ├── github.go   # GitHub API implementation
utils/
|    └── utils.go
main.go             # Main entrypoint

• Parses the provided repo URL

• Detects whether the repo is public or private.

• Retrieves the default branch (if not specified).

• Lists all files and directories via GitHub’s Tree API

• Searches for the requested file or folder name.

• Downloads matching content into the specified (or default) destination.

Snip does not clone the repository or use Git — it talks directly to the provider’s REST API, keeping things lightweight and fast.

$ go run snip.go repo github.com/mukailasam/codelab --file avl.go

🌍 Public repository detected.
🔍 Listing repository tree for mukailasam/codelab (branch: main)...
⬇️ Downloaded: avl.go
✅ Done.

Cloning an entire repository just to get one file or folder is inefficient. Snip saves time, bandwidth, and storage by letting you fetch only what you need directly from the GitHub API.

It’s perfect for developers who want a quick way to grab example files, configs, or small components without dealing with full clones or large repo histories.

I needed a tool to quickly grab a single project, subfolder, configuration, or component from my Codelab without cloning the entire repository.

Contributions are welcome! To contribute:

• Fork the repository

• Create a new branch

• Implement your feature or fix

• Open a pull request

Make sure to follow Go’s code formatting and keep your commits clean and descriptive.

Snip is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE