A Beginner’s Guide to Forking Repositories on GitHub in 2026

In GitHub, a fork is essentially a personal copy of someone else’s repository. It allows you to freely make changes without affecting the original project. Forking is commonly used in open-source projects where you might want to contribute to a project, but without directly modifying the original repository.

Here’s how it works:

• Forking: When you fork a repository, you create a copy of it under your own GitHub account. This copy is independent of the original repository, but it still keeps a link to the original repo.
• Make Changes: You can modify, add, or delete files in your forked repo as much as you like, without affecting the original repository.
• Pull Request (PR): If you want your changes to be considered for inclusion in the original repository, you can submit a pull request. This lets the owner of the original repository review your changes and decide whether to merge them into the main project.

Key Benefits:

• Safe Experimentation: You can try out changes without the risk of messing up the original project.
• Contributions: Forking is the standard way to contribute to a project, especially in open-source. You fork the project, make your changes, and then submit a pull request.
• Collaboration: It helps multiple people collaborate on the same project, even if they’re not directly involved with the original repository.

To sum it up, forking gives you a sandbox to play with code, and the pull request is how you ask to bring those changes back into the main project.

Before you start forking repositories, it’s essential to understand how Git works. In my Beginner’s Guide to Git & GitHub for Version Control, I cover the basic Git commands and workflow that will help you get started. Make sure you’re familiar with committing, pushing, and pulling changes before forking repositories.

Step-by-Step Guide to Forking a Repository and Creating a Pull Request on GitHub

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the process of forking a GitHub repository and creating a pull request. Let’s use my WordPress plugin example to demonstrate the process, step-by-step.

1. Fork a Repository

Let’s assume you want to contribute to an open-source project hosted on GitHub. Here’s what you need to do:

• Go to GitHub and find the repository you want to fork. For example, let’s say you want to contribute to this project: My-GitHub-Repo.
• Click on the “Fork” Button: On the upper-right of the repository page, you’ll see a “Fork” button. Clicking this will create a copy of the repository under your own GitHub account.
• Choose Your GitHub Account: If you belong to multiple organizations, GitHub will ask you where you want to fork the repository (your personal account or a specific organization). Select your account.
• After forking, GitHub will redirect you to the newly created fork under your account.

2. Clone the Forked Repository

Once you’ve forked the repository, you’ll need to clone it to your local machine to start making changes:

1. Go to Your Forked Repository: Navigate to your GitHub profile and open the forked repository.
2. Clone It Locally: On the repository page, click the green “Code” button and copy the repository’s URL (either HTTPS or SSH). Then, open a terminal or command prompt and run:

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/My-GitHub-Repo.gitCode language: PHP (php)

Note: Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual GitHub username.

3. Navigate to the Project Directory:

cd My-GitHub-Repo

3. Make Changes to the Code

Now that you’ve cloned the repository, you can start making changes to the WordPress plugin itself. Let’s assume you want to modify the plugin to customize the footer message or add new functionality.

Modify the Footer Message

1. Open the Plugin Code: In the hello-world-plugin.php file, you’ll find the following function that adds the footer message:

function hello_world_footer_message() {
    echo '<p>Hello, World! Welcome to my WordPress site.</p>';
}Code language: PHP (php)

2. Change the Message: You can modify the message to something more personalized or dynamic. For example, you can change it to:

function hello_world_footer_message() {
    echo '<p>Welcome to My Custom WordPress Site. Enjoy your stay!</p>';
}Code language: PHP (php)

3. Commit the Changes: After saving your changes, you need to commit them. Run:

git add hello-world-plugin.php
git commit -m "Updated footer message with custom content"Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Add New Features to the Plugin

You can also extend the functionality of the plugin by adding some new features. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Display the Current Year: Modify the plugin to show the current year in the footer message. This will make the message more dynamic and automatically update each year.

function hello_world_footer_message() {
    $current_year = date('Y');
    echo "<p>Welcome to My WordPress site. Current year: $current_year</p>";
}Code language: PHP (php)

2. Add an Image to the Footer: Add a small image or logo to your footer message:

function hello_world_footer_message() {
    echo '<p><img src="https://your-site.com/logo.png" alt="Logo"> Welcome to My WordPress Site!</p>';
}Code language: HTML, XML (xml)

3. Create a Shortcode for the Footer Message: Make the footer message available as a shortcode that can be used anywhere on the site. For example, create a [custom_footer] shortcode:

function hello_world_footer_shortcode() {
    return '<p>Custom Footer Message! Powered by WordPress.</p>';
}
add_shortcode('custom_footer', 'hello_world_footer_shortcode');Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

After adding this, users can use [custom_footer] anywhere in their posts or pages to display the footer message.

4. Commit Your Changes: Once you’ve made your changes, follow these steps to commit your work:

1. Stage Your Changes:

git add hello-world-plugin.phpCode language: CSS (css)

2. Commit Your Changes:

git commit -m "Added custom footer message and shortcode"Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

4. Push Changes to Your Fork

Now that you’ve made changes to the WordPress plugin, it’s time to push those changes to your forked repository on GitHub:

Push Your Changes: Run the following command to push your local changes (e.g., the updated footer message or the added shortcode) to your forked repository on GitHub:

git push origin main

Replace main with whatever branch you’re working on if it’s different.

5. Create a Pull Request (PR)

Now that your changes are pushed to your forked repository, it’s time to submit those changes back to the original project:

1. Go to Your Fork on GitHub: After pushing your changes, go to your forked repository on GitHub.
2. Click the “Compare & Pull Request” Button: GitHub will usually show a button to compare the changes you made. Click it.
3. Write a Description: In the pull request page, write a clear description of what changes you’ve made and why. For example:

“I updated the footer message in the plugin to display the current year, added a custom message, and created a shortcode for displaying the footer message anywhere on the site.”

4. Submit the Pull Request: Once you’ve described your changes, click the Create Pull Request button to submit it.

6. Review and Merge

Once you’ve created the pull request, the project maintainers will review it. They might provide feedback, suggest changes, or approve it as-is. If everything looks good, they will merge your pull request into the original repository.

• If Changes Are Suggested: If the maintainers suggest changes to your plugin (e.g., modifying the footer message or fixing a bug), you can update your local copy of the repository, make the necessary changes, and then push those updates back to GitHub. GitHub will automatically update the pull request with your new changes.
• After the Merge: Once your pull request is merged, your changes will become part of the main project, and you’ll have successfully contributed to the repository!

Now that you know how to fork repositories and submit pull requests, let’s put your skills to use with a real-world project. Try forking a simple open-source project, such as a WordPress plugin, and make a change (like editing the README or fixing a typo). Follow the steps in my Beginner’s Guide to Git & GitHub for Version Control to make sure you’re comfortable with the basic Git workflow.

In Summary

• Fork the repository to create your own copy.
• Clone it to your local machine.
• Make changes to the code and commit them.
• Push your changes to your forked repository.
• Create a pull request to propose your changes to the original project.

FAQs About Forking Repositories on GitHub

Conclusion

Forking repositories on GitHub is an essential skill for anyone looking to contribute to open-source projects, collaborate with other developers, or experiment with code without the risk of altering the original project. By forking a repo, making changes, and submitting a pull request, you become an active participant in the development process – whether that means fixing bugs, adding new features, or improving documentation.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced developer, forking repositories is a key part of working in the collaborative world of coding. Now that you’ve got a solid understanding of how forking works, you’re ready to dive into your own projects and contribute to others. Happy coding and contributing!

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