If you are working on a forked repository, there may come a time when you need to get a branch from the original repository. This could be because you want to contribute to the original repository or because you want to merge changes from the original repository into your own fork. Whatever the reason, getting a branch from a forked repo is a relatively straightforward process.
The first step is to navigate to the forked repository on your preferred Git hosting platform, such as GitHub. Once there, locate the branch that you want to get from the original repository. You can usually find a list of branches in a dropdown menu or a tab labeled “Branches.” Click on the branch you want to get.
Next, you need to create a new branch in your local repository that will mirror the branch from the forked repo. Open your Git client, navigate to your local forked repository, and create a new branch. You can do this using the Git command line or through the GUI of your Git client. Make sure to give the new branch a descriptive name that will help you identify it later.
Finally, you need to configure your local forked repository to track the branch from the original repository. This allows you to easily fetch and merge changes from the original repository into your own fork. You can do this by running the following Git command: git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/branch-name, replacing “branch-name” with the name of the branch you want to track. Once this is done, you can use commands like git fetch and git pull to get the latest changes from the original repository.
Branch from Forked Repo: A Step-by-Step Guide
If you have forked a repository on GitHub and want to create a new branch for your own changes, follow these steps:
-
Open the forked repository on GitHub and navigate to the main page.
-
Click on the “Branch” button to access the branch creation page.
-
Type a name for your new branch in the text field. Make sure it is descriptive and relevant to the changes you plan to make.
-
Choose the base branch from the dropdown menu. This will be the branch that your new branch will be based on. Typically, you’ll want to select the “master” branch or the default branch of the repository.
-
Click on the “Create branch” button to create your new branch.
Example:
If you are forking a repository called “awesome-project” and want to create a new branch called “feature-add-button”, you would follow these steps:
-
Open the “awesome-project” repository on GitHub.
-
Click on the “Branch” button.
-
Type “feature-add-button” as the branch name.
-
Select “master” as the base branch.
-
Click on the “Create branch” button.
Once you have created your new branch, you can make changes to the code, commit them, and push your branch to your forked repository. This allows you to work on your changes separately from the original repository and later submit a pull request to merge your changes back into the original repository.
Creating a Forked Repository
A forked repository is a copy of a repository that exists under a different user account. It allows you to freely make changes to the repository without affecting the original repository.
Here are the steps to create a forked repository:
- Log in to your GitHub account.
- Navigate to the repository you want to fork.
- Click on the “Fork” button located at the top right corner of the page.
- GitHub will then create a copy of the original repository under your account.
- You can now clone the forked repository to your local machine using Git.
- Make the desired changes to the files in the cloned repository.
- Commit and push the changes to your forked repository.
Note that the forked repository will initially be in sync with the original repository. If the original repository is updated, you can sync your forked repository with the latest changes by following the steps outlined in the GitHub documentation.
Creating a forked repository allows you to contribute to open-source projects and collaborate with other developers. It provides a safe environment to experiment and contribute back to the original repository.
Cloning the Forked Repository
Before you can access and work with the branch of the forked repository, you’ll need to clone the repository onto your local machine. Cloning allows you to create a local copy of the repository, which you can then work on and make changes to.
To clone the forked repository, you’ll need to follow these steps:
- Open the command line interface (CLI) on your computer.
- Navigate to the directory where you want to clone the repository.
- Copy the clone URL of the forked repository. This can usually be found on the repository’s main page on GitHub.
- In the command line interface, use the
git clonecommand followed by the clone URL. For example:
git clone https://github.com/your-username/forked-repo.git
Once the cloning process is complete, you will have a local copy of the forked repository on your machine. You can then navigate to the cloned repository directory using the command line interface.
Now that you have cloned the forked repository, you can proceed to access the branch you want to work on and make the necessary changes.
Creating a Branch
To create a branch in your forked repository, you can follow these steps:
- Navigate to the repository in your GitHub account.
- Click on the “Branch: master” button on the left side of the repository.
- Enter the name for your new branch in the text box.
- Select the base branch for your new branch.
- Click on the “Create branch” button to create the new branch.
Once the branch is created, you can start making changes and committing them to the branch.
