Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

How to Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse?

  1. Click File> Import
  2.  In the Import Window, click Projects from Git (with smart import) and click Next.
  3. In the Select Repository Source Window, click Existing local repository or Clone URI.
  4. Step through the wizard and click Finish for the wizard to analyze the content for the project folder to find projects for import. Then import them into the IDE. The imported project will be listed in the Project Explorer view.

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

As a VCS (Version Control System) I’m using git in all my projects. And not only for software or firmware projects: I’m using it for hardware design (KiCAD, FreeCAD, …) or for documentation (LaTeX, …) too.

The nice thing with the Eclipse IDE is that it supports nice git integration, making importing projects from git repositories easy.

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

Import Projects from git


In this article I show how I can import projects into Eclipse from a git repository. This is useful if projects are hosted locally or if projects are hosted on a git provider like GitHub or GitLab. DZone’s previously covered how to deploy Spring Boot apps using Gitlab.

Related DZone Guide: CI/CD Tools Compared Jenkins vs GitLab.

Prerequisites

I assume that the following is installed:

Eclipse Git Perspective

Eclipse has a dedicated perspective for git:

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

Open Perspective


Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

Open Git Perspective


In that perspective I have a list of repositories and can see the status and commit messages:

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

Repositories in Eclipse git Perspective


 While the Eclipse git perspective is great, I still prefer to have an external git client, and my preference is SourceTree.

Clone Git Repository

For Eclipse I need to have the git repository cloned/present on my machine. I can use normal git operations tools to clone the repository, or I can do this directly from Eclipse using the menu File > Import > Git: (both importers do the same)

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

File Import Projects from Git


It asks you if the import shall be from an already existing repository or if a repository shall be cloned first:

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

Select Repository Source


For an existing local repository I can select it from the list. If the desired local repository is not listed, it can be added using the ‘Add…’ button.

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

Select Git Repository


If the repository is not cloned yet, I can do this using the ‘Clone URI’ option and then provide the location of the git repository:

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

Source Git Repository


Once cloned, I can select the folder to be scanned for the projects:

Source Git Repository

Cloning a repository might take some time, depending on the size of the repository.

Import From Repository

In a next step I can select the folder of the projects I’m interested in:

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

Select project folder


Then it scans for existing projects and I can import a list of projects:

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

Import selected projects from git


Press Finish. With this, I have the project in the Project Explorer listed:

Import Projects From Git Into Eclipse

Imported project


One important and good thing is: it does not copy the projects into the workspace: instead it links to the projects which makes sense for projects under version control.

Summary

Importing projects from a git repository is a nice feature in Eclipse, and I can clone the repository as part of the process. Of course, if I have the repository already cloned, can use the MCUXpresso IDE drag & drop feature to import the project too. Beside of that, the built-in git Perspective is very useful too.

Happy git-ing :)

Links

 

 

 

 

Top