---
title: "Clone Application"
description: "Documentation for Clone Application Command in ZeyOS SDK CLI"
canonical_url: "https://www.zeyos.com/sdk/application-management/zeysdk-clone"
markdown_url: "https://www.zeyos.com/ai/guide/sdk/application-management/zeysdk-clone.md"
section: "sdk"
authority: "guide"
language: "en"
source_repository: "zeyos/sdk-v2"
source_path: "docs/application-management/zeysdk-clone.md"
source_revision: "a99897af74253b4dc5af6fecb9301cea0ae18e27"
---

# Clone Application

The `clone` command copies an existing ZeyOS application from a remote instance.

```bash
zeysdk clone <INSTANCE_ID> <APP_ID> [TARGET_DIRECTORY] [options]
```

**Parameters**

| Parameter | Description | Required | Default | Example |
|-----------|-------------|----------|---------|---------|
| `INSTANCE_ID` | Source instance ID | Yes | - | `dev-instance` |
| `APP_ID` | Application ID | Yes | - | `my-app` |
| `TARGET_DIRECTORY` | Destination path | No | Same as APP_ID | `apps/my-app` |

**Options**

| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `--verbose` | Show detailed output |
| `--token <token>` | SDK token for non-interactive linking |
| `--url <url>` | Instance URL for non-interactive linking |

**Process**

1. **Directory Setup**
   - If `TARGET_DIRECTORY` not provided, uses `APP_ID` as directory name
   - Requires the target's parent directory to exist
   - Refuses to overwrite any existing target path
   - Creates a uniquely named staging directory beside the final target

2. **App Creation**
   - Creates the local scaffold in the staging directory
   - Sets up initial scaffolding

3. **Instance Linking**
   - Links to specified instance
   - Validates credentials and connection
   - Requires `APP_ID` to already exist remotely; clone will not create it

4. **Data Sync**
   - Performs force pull to sync all app data
   - Retrieves complete application state
   - Renames the completed staging directory to `TARGET_DIRECTORY`
   - Removes staging data on any create, link, pull, or finalization failure

**Error Handling**

| Error | Description | Resolution |
|-------|-------------|------------|
| Directory exists | Target directory already exists | Choose different target directory |
| Parent missing | Parent of the target path does not exist | Create the parent directory first |
| Creation failed | App creation error | Check app identifier and permissions |
| Link failed | Instance linking error | Verify instance ID and connectivity |
| Remote app missing | `APP_ID` does not exist on the source instance | Verify the app ID and source instance |
| Pull failed | Data sync error | Check network and try again |

**Notes**

- `TARGET_DIRECTORY` defaults to `APP_ID`
- The target directory must not already exist
- The target appears only after create, link, and pull have all succeeded
- For a fully non-interactive clone, pass both `--token` and `--url` unless a matching stored host supplies the missing value
- A failure after authentication removes the local staging directory, but a credential saved by the successful link step can remain in the global host store
- The resulting project is linked to the source instance

**Best Practices**

- Clone into a clean workspace
- Use a descriptive target directory when cloning multiple environments
- Run `zeysdk compare` after cloning if you need to verify local and remote state
- Avoid editing files during the initial clone and pull sequence