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6.4 Working with Forks and Pull Requests

When collaborating on repositories you don’t own, forking and pull requests (PRs) let you contribute safely and efficiently.

Creating a Fork​

  1. On GitHub, go to the original repository.

  2. Click Fork in the top-right corner.

  3. GitHub creates a copy under your account.

  4. Clone your fork locally:

    git clone git@github.com:USERNAME/FORKED-PROJECT.git
    cd FORKED-PROJECT

Keeping Your Fork Up to Date​

  1. Add the original repository as an upstream remote:

    git remote add upstream https://github.com/ORIGINAL-USER/ORIGINAL-PROJECT.git

  2. Verify remotes:

    git remote -v

  3. Fetch and merge updates:

    git fetch upstream
    git checkout main
    git merge upstream/main

Developing a Feature or Fix​

  1. Start from your updated main branch:

    git checkout main

  2. Create and switch to a new branch:

    git checkout -b new-feature

  3. Make your changes, then commit and push:

    git add .
    git commit -m "Add new feature"
    git push origin new-feature

Submitting a Pull Request​

  1. Go to your fork on GitHub.
  2. Switch to your new branch (e.g., new-feature).
  3. Click Compare & pull request.
  4. Add a clear title and description.
  5. Submit for review.

Keeping Your Branch Clean (Optional)​

  1. Fetch the latest upstream changes:

    git fetch upstream
    git checkout main
    git merge upstream/main

  2. Rebase your branch:

    git checkout new-feature
    git rebase main

  3. Push the updated branch:

    git push --force origin new-feature

Reviewing and Merging Pull Requests (Repository Owner)​

  • Review PRs directly on the platform.
  • If all checks pass, click Merge pull request.
  • Optionally test locally before merging.

Checking Out a Pull Request Locally​

# Fetch all pull requests
git fetch origin

# Checkout a specific PR by number
git checkout -b pr-42 pull/origin/42

Manual Merging (if needed)​

git checkout main
git pull https://github.com/forkuser/forkedrepo.git new-feature
git merge new-feature
git push origin main

After merging, delete the feature branch:

git branch -d new-feature