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🏠 Homepage 🏠 Syllabus of Day 2 ⬅️ Previous: 🔄 Cloning a Repository

5. Forking a Repository

What is Forking?

Forking is the process of creating a personal copy of someone else’s repository on your own GitHub account. This allows you to freely experiment with changes without affecting the original project.

When to Use Forking

• Open Source Contributions: When you want to contribute to a project you don’t own or don’t have write access to.
• Experimentation: When you want to try new features or fixes without impacting the main repository.
• Learning: When you want to study or modify a project for your own understanding.

You should fork when you do NOT have collaborator access to the repository.

Why Fork Instead of Clone?

• Fork: Creates a copy on your GitHub account, allowing you to propose changes via Pull Requests.
• Clone: Only creates a local copy; you cannot push changes to the original repo unless you have write access.

How to Fork a Repo on GitHub

1. Go to the Repository:
   Visit https://github.com/samyak-shrestha/git-repo-example.

2. Click the “Fork” Button:
   At the top right of the page, click the Fork button.

3. Choose Your Account:
   Select your GitHub account as the destination for the fork.

4. Your Fork is Created:
   You now have a copy at https://github.com/<your-username>/git-repo-example.

Example Workflow: Fork, Clone, and Contribute

1. Fork the Repository
   As described above.

2. Clone Your Fork Locally

   git clone git@github.com:<your-username>/git-repo-example.git
   cd git-repo-example
   

3. Add the Original Repo as Upstream (Optional, for syncing)

    git remote add upstream git@github.com:samyak-shrestha/git-repo-example.git
   

4. Create a Branch for Your Changes

    git checkout -b my-feature-branch
   

5. Make Changes, Commit, and Push

    git add .
    git commit -m "Add my feature"
    git push origin my-feature-branch
   

6. Open a Pull Request
   • Go to your fork on GitHub.
   • Click “Compare & pull request”.
   • Fill in the details and submit.

Summary Table

| Topic | Description/Goal | |———————-|————————————————————–| | Fork | Click “Fork” on GitHub | | Clone fork | git clone git@github.com:<your-username>/git-repo-example.git | | Add upstream | git remote add upstream git@github.com:samyak-shrestha/git-repo-example.git | | Create branch | git checkout -b my-feature-branch | | Pushing Changes | git push origin my-feature-branch | | Pull Requests | Open PR from your fork to the original repo |

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Tip: Forking is the standard workflow for contributing to open source projects when you don’t have write access.

➡️Up Next: 🔁 Opening a Pull Request (PR)

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