Forking a Repository

Overview

Teaching: 10 min
Exercises: 10 min

Questions

• How can I make an online copy of a repository on which I can work?

Objectives

• Create an online copy of a repository under your own account.

Forking a repository on a Git hosting site creates a copy of the repository under your own user account, thereby keeping a link to the original repository. This only works within the same platform, i.e. you need to have an account on the same platform as the original repository.

When forking a repository, this basically runs git clone ... on the server. The remote origin pointing to the original repository remains intact.

This allows us to contribute changes/commits back to the original repository by a process called “Pull Request” or “Merge Request” (more on that later).

Forks vs. Import

Instead of forking a repository, you can also choose to import a repository. This also runs a git clone ... on the server, however removes the link to the original repository. The two repositories are now separated and independent from each other.

Importing repositories also works across different platforms.

When several people work on a software project, each developer typically starts by forking the repository to their own user-account. They then own that copy and can work on implementing an enhancement or fixing a bug.

Create a Fork

1. Go to your instructor’s testing_demo repository on GitHub.
2. Click on the “Fork” button.
3. Wait a few moments until the repository has been copied
4. Explore your forked repository.

Fork the correct repository!

The idea here is that

• the instructor forks the original (template) testing_demo repository and
• the workshop attendees will fork the instructor’s fork of the testing_demo repo.

In the end, the fork-tree should look something like this for a workshop with five attendees:

flowchart RL A( acenet-arc /
testing_demo ) ; B[ instructor /
testing_demo ] -- fork of --> A ; subgraph Used in the workshop C1[ attendee1 /
testing_demo ] -- fork of --> B ; C2[ attendee2 /
testing_demo ] -- fork of --> B ; C3[ attendee3 /
testing_demo ] -- fork of --> B ; C4[ attendee4 /
testing_demo ] -- fork of --> B ; C5[ attendee5 /
testing_demo ] -- fork of --> B ; end

The original repository will remain in its initial state and issues and pull requests will only be created towards the instructor’s fork of the repository.

Key Points

• By forking a repository you create a copy under your own account.

• You can use this ‘fork’ to develop you own feature or fix a bug that’s bugging you.

• This can be the base for contributing these changes back to the original project.

• Sometimes however it is used to initiate an independent spin-off that will diverge over time.