Learn the fork-and-pull workflow used in open source projects. Master forking repositories, keeping them synced, and contributing back to projects you don't own.

Learning Objectives

Understand the forking workflow

Fork and clone repositories

Add upstream remotes

Keep your fork synchronized

Create pull requests from forks

Handle upstream changes in your PR

Step 1

Verify GitHub CLI fork capabilities

Check if GitHub CLI is installed and can handle forking operations.

Commands to Run

gh --version

gh repo view facebook/react --json nameWithOwner,forkCount,stargazersCount

What This Does

Forking creates your own copy of someone else's repository when you don't have write access. You make changes in your fork, then propose those changes back via pull requests. This is the standard workflow for contributing to open source projects. The gh CLI simplifies forking operations. The example shows React's repo with its fork count, demonstrating how widely forking is used.

Expected Outcome

gh CLI version displayed. React repository info shown including thousands of forks, demonstrating the forking workflow's popularity.

Pro Tips

1
Fork = your personal copy of someone else's repo
2
You have full control of your fork
3
Changes go back via pull requests
4
Used by all major open source projects (Linux, React, Kubernetes)
5
Install gh CLI from https://cli.github.com if not installed

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402 — Forking and Open Source Contribution