title: Make a local copy of a remote git repository
body: <p>I am not very familiar with the terminology or practices and procedures of version control.</p>
  
  <p>Here is what I want to do :</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p>I want to download a folder from a git repository from the Internet. Is cloning the right way to do it ? WOn't cloning keep the unnecessary meta-data files ? Is there a way to do a "clean" download ? </p></li>
  <li><p>I want to set up a local repository that contains this folder on which I can now use version control. That is, when I do a commit, my local repository gets updated.</p></li>
  <li><p>Finally, I want this local repo to be accessible on the local network, so that I can download it from any other machine on the LAN too.</p></li>
  </ol>