diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 9ffc589..af7009d 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -29,10 +29,11 @@ CLI Usage is as follows::
                   [-o OUTPUT_DIRECTORY] [-i] [--starred] [--watched]
                   [--all] [--issues] [--issue-comments] [--issue-events]
                   [--pulls] [--pull-comments] [--pull-commits] [--labels]
-                  [--hooks] [--milestones] [--repositories] [--wikis]
-                  [--skip-existing] [-L [LANGUAGES [LANGUAGES ...]]]
-                  [-N NAME_REGEX] [-H GITHUB_HOST] [-O] [-R REPOSITORY]
-                  [-P] [-F] [--prefer-ssh] [-v]
+                  [--hooks] [--milestones] [--repositories] [--bare]
+                  [--wikis] [--skip-existing]
+                  [-L [LANGUAGES [LANGUAGES ...]]] [-N NAME_REGEX]
+                  [-H GITHUB_HOST] [-O] [-R REPOSITORY] [-P] [-F]
+                  [--prefer-ssh] [-v]
                   USER
 
     Backup a github account
@@ -66,6 +67,7 @@ CLI Usage is as follows::
                             authenticated)
       --milestones          include milestones in backup
       --repositories        include repository clone in backup
+      --bare                clone bare repositories
       --wikis               include wiki clone in backup
       --skip-existing       skip project if a backup directory exists
       -L [LANGUAGES [LANGUAGES ...]], --languages [LANGUAGES [LANGUAGES ...]]
diff --git a/bin/github-backup b/bin/github-backup
index a33565d..27c176f 100755
--- a/bin/github-backup
+++ b/bin/github-backup
@@ -204,6 +204,10 @@ def parse_args():
                         action='store_true',
                         dest='include_repository',
                         help='include repository clone in backup')
+    parser.add_argument('--bare',
+                        action='store_true',
+                        dest='bare_clone',
+                        help='clone bare repositories')
     parser.add_argument('--wikis',
                         action='store_true',
                         dest='include_wiki',
@@ -508,14 +512,16 @@ def backup_repositories(args, output_directory, repositories):
             fetch_repository(repository['name'],
                              repo_url,
                              repo_dir,
-                             skip_existing=args.skip_existing)
+                             skip_existing=args.skip_existing,
+                             bare_clone=args.bare_clone)
 
         download_wiki = (args.include_wiki or args.include_everything)
         if repository['has_wiki'] and download_wiki:
             fetch_repository(repository['name'],
                              repo_url.replace('.git', '.wiki.git'),
                              os.path.join(repo_cwd, 'wiki'),
-                             skip_existing=args.skip_existing)
+                             skip_existing=args.skip_existing,
+                             bare_clone=args.bare_clone)
 
         if args.include_issues or args.include_everything:
             backup_issues(args, repo_cwd, repository, repos_template)
@@ -695,7 +701,7 @@ def backup_hooks(args, repo_cwd, repository, repos_template):
         log_info("Unable to read hooks, skipping")
 
 
-def fetch_repository(name, remote_url, local_dir, skip_existing=False):
+def fetch_repository(name, remote_url, local_dir, skip_existing=False, bare_clone=False):
     clone_exists = os.path.exists(os.path.join(local_dir, '.git'))
 
     if clone_exists and skip_existing:
@@ -723,7 +729,10 @@ def fetch_repository(name, remote_url, local_dir, skip_existing=False):
         log_info('Cloning {0} repository from {1} to {2}'.format(name,
                                                                  masked_remote_url,
                                                                  local_dir))
-        git_command = ['git', 'clone', remote_url, local_dir]
+        if bare_clone:
+            git_command = ['git', 'clone', '--bare', remote_url, local_dir]
+        else:
+            git_command = ['git', 'clone', remote_url, local_dir]
         logging_subprocess(git_command, None)