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This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2023-03-15. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Fork a repo

In this article

A fork is a new repository that shares code and visibility settings with the original “upstream” repository.

About forks

A fork is a new repository that shares code and visibility settings with the original “upstream” repository. Forks are often used to iterate on ideas or changes before they are proposed back to the upstream repository, such as in open source projects or when a user does not have write access to the upstream repository. For more information, see "Working with forks."

Propose changes to someone else's project

For example, you can use forks to propose changes related to fixing a bug. Rather than logging an issue for a bug you have found, you can:

  • Fork the repository.
  • Make the fix.
  • Submit a pull request to the project owner.

Use someone else's project as a starting point for your own idea.

Open source software is based on the idea that by sharing code, we can make better, more reliable software. For more information, see the "About the Open Source Initiative" on the Open Source Initiative.

For more information about applying open source principles to your organization's development work on your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, see GitHub's white paper "An introduction to innersource."

When creating your public repository from a fork of someone's project, make sure to include a license file that determines how you want your project to be shared with others. For more information, see "Choose an open source license" at choosealicense.com.

For more information on open source, specifically how to create and grow an open source project, we've created Open Source Guides that will help you foster a healthy open source community by recommending best practices for creating and maintaining repositories for your open source project. You can also take a free GitHub Skills course on maintaining open source communities.

Prerequisites

If you haven't yet, first set up Git and authentication with your GitHub Enterprise Server instance from Git. For more information, see "Set up Git."

Forking a repository

You might fork a project to propose changes to the upstream repository. In this case, it's good practice to regularly sync your fork with the upstream repository. To do this, you'll need to use Git on the command line. You can practice setting the upstream repository using the same octocat/Spoon-Knife repository you just forked.

  1. On your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, navigate to the octocat/Spoon-Knife repository.

  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Fork.

    Screenshot of the main page of repository. A button, labeled with a fork icon and "Fork 59.3k," is outlined in dark orange.

To learn more about GitHub CLI, see "About GitHub CLI."

To create a fork of a repository, use the gh repo fork subcommand.

gh repo fork REPOSITORY

To create the fork in an organization, use the --org flag.

gh repo fork REPOSITORY --org "octo-org"

You can fork a repository on GitHub.com or in GitHub Desktop. For information about forking on GitHub.com, see the web browser version of this article.

In GitHub Desktop, if you attempt to clone a repository that you don't have write access to, a fork is automatically created for you.

  1. In the File menu, click Clone Repository.

    Screenshot of the menu bar on a Mac. The "File" dropdown menu is expanded, and the "Clone Repository" option is highlighted with an orange outline.

    Screenshot of the "GitHub Desktop" menu bar on Windows. The "File" dropdown menu is expanded, and the "Clone Repository" option is highlighted with an orange outline.

  2. Click the tab that corresponds to the location of the repository you want to clone. You can also click URL to manually enter the repository location.

    Screenshot of the "Clone a repository" window. At the top of the window, tabs labeled "GitHub.com", "GitHub Enterprise" and "URL" are highlighted with an orange outline.

  3. From the list of repositories, click the repository you want to clone.

    Screenshot of the "Clone a repository" window. The "github/docs" repository is highlighted with an orange outline.

  4. To select the local directory into which you want to clone the repository, next to the "Local Path" field, click Choose... and navigate to the directory.

    Screenshot of the "Clone a repository" window. A button, labeled "Choose", is highlighted with an orange outline.

  5. At the bottom of the "Clone a Repository" window, click Clone.

  6. Read the information in the "How are you planning to use this fork?" window.

    • If you plan to use this fork for contributing to the original upstream repository, click To contribute to the parent project.
    • If you plan to use this fork for a project not connected to the upstream, click For my own purposes.

  7. Click Continue.

Cloning your forked repository

Right now, you have a fork of the Spoon-Knife repository, but you do not have the files in that repository locally on your computer.

  1. On your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, navigate to your fork of the Spoon-Knife repository.

  2. Above the list of files, click Code.

    Screenshot of the list of files on the landing page of a repository. The "Code" button is highlighted with a dark orange outline.

  3. Copy the URL for the repository.

    • To clone the repository using HTTPS, under "HTTPS", click .

    • To clone the repository using an SSH key, including a certificate issued by your organization's SSH certificate authority, click SSH, then click .

    • To clone a repository using GitHub CLI, click GitHub CLI, then click .

      Screenshot of the "Code" dropdown menu. To the right of the HTTPS URL for the repository, a copy icon is outlined in dark orange.

  4. Open TerminalTerminalGit Bash.

  5. Change the current working directory to the location where you want the cloned directory.

  6. Type git clone, and then paste the URL you copied earlier. It will look like this, with your GitHub Enterprise Server username instead of YOUR-USERNAME:

    $ git clone https://HOSTNAME/YOUR-USERNAME/Spoon-Knife

  7. Press Enter. Your local clone will be created.

    $ git clone https://HOSTNAME/YOUR-USERNAME/Spoon-Knife
> Cloning into `Spoon-Knife`...
> remote: Counting objects: 10, done.
> remote: Compressing objects: 100% (8/8), done.
> remote: Total 10 (delta 1), reused 10 (delta 1)
> Unpacking objects: 100% (10/10), done.

To learn more about GitHub CLI, see "About GitHub CLI."

To create a clone of your fork, use the --clone flag.

gh repo fork REPOSITORY --clone=true

  1. In the File menu, click Clone Repository.

    Screenshot of the menu bar on a Mac. The "File" dropdown menu is expanded, and the "Clone Repository" option is highlighted with an orange outline.

    Screenshot of the "GitHub Desktop" menu bar on Windows. The "File" dropdown menu is expanded, and the "Clone Repository" option is highlighted with an orange outline.

  2. Click the tab that corresponds to the location of the repository you want to clone. You can also click URL to manually enter the repository location.

    Screenshot of the "Clone a repository" window. At the top of the window, tabs labeled "GitHub.com", "GitHub Enterprise" and "URL" are highlighted with an orange outline.

  3. From the list of repositories, click the repository you want to clone.