Can I checkout branch from local git mirror clone

Question

I have cloned my repo using --mirror flag, can I checkout branch from it if yes how? if no why?

git branch shows me list of all branches but git checkout branch-name gives me error saying:
fatal: This operation must be run in a work tree

Answer 1

Referring to the official docs :

--mirror

Set up a mirror of the source repository. This implies --bare . Compared to --bare , --mirror not only maps local branches of the source to local branches of the target, it maps all refs (including remote-tracking branches, notes etc.) and sets up a refspec configuration such that all these refs are overwritten by a git remote update in the target repository.

Cloning with the --mirror option you are implicitly using the --bare option, which create a repository without a working tree.
The --bare option is used mainly at server-side or in specific use cases.

In your case you shouldn't directly use your mirrored repo, as not having a working tree, is not suitable for editing files or for git commands as git checkout . You should git clone your-mirrored-repo (without the --bare / --mirror option) to have a full working tree, started from the mirrored repo, in which you can use all the git commands or edit files directly.