GIT FORK

Git Fork

A fork is a copy of a repository that lets you experiment with changes without impacting the original project. One common use of forking is to propose bug fixes by making modifications and submitting them for review. To fix a bug you’ve discovered, you can:

• Create a fork of the repository.
• Implement the fix.
• Submit a pull request to the project owner.

Forking is not a core Git function; it's a feature provided by Git hosting services like GitHub.

When to Use Git Fork

In general, forking a repository allows us to experiment with a project without impacting the original. Here are some common reasons for forking a repository:

• Suggest improvements to another person's project.
• Use an existing project as a foundation for your own work.

Let’s walk through the process of forking a repository on GitHub.

How to Fork a Repository?

Forking and branching are great methods for contributing to open-source projects. These two Git features promote better collaboration on projects.

Forking provides a safe way to contribute by creating a copy of the project, allowing us to experiment freely. Once the project is finalized, we can submit a pull request to merge the changes.

The process is simple. The steps to fork a repository are as follows:

• Log in to your GitHub account.
• Locate the repository you want to fork.
• Click the "Fork" button in the upper-right corner of the repository page.

We cannot fork our own repository; only shared repositories can be forked. If someone wants to fork a repository, they must be logged in to their own account. Let's look at the following scenario where a user, pune2016, wants to contribute to our project, GitExample2. When they search for or enter the URL of our repository, it will appear as follows:

The user interface of my repository, as seen by other contributors, features a "Fork" option at the top right corner. Clicking this will initiate the forking process, which takes a moment to create a copy of the project in your GitHub account, leaving the original repository unchanged. You can freely make modifications to your fork and then submit a pull request to the main project. The project owner will review your changes and decide whether to merge them.

The forked repository is displayed as pune2016/GitExample2, with a description visible below the repository name. Additionally, the fork count in the top-right corner has increased by one.

Therefore, a repository can be forked from GitHub.

Fork vs. Clone

• People sometimes confuse forking with the clone command because both create copies of a repository. However, the key difference is that forking creates a server-side copy, while cloning creates a local copy of the repository.
• Forking a repository doesn’t involve a specific command; it’s a feature offered by third-party Git services like GitHub. In contrast, `git clone` is a command-line tool used to create a local copy of a project.
• Typically, team members working on the same project will clone the repository, while external contributors will fork it.
• A pull request allows for merging changes made in a forked repository, enabling proposals for modifications to the project. In contrast, changes made in a cloned repository can be merged by pushing them to the remote repository.