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Forking a repository

A fork is your own copy of someone else's repository, living under your namespace. Fork a project to experiment freely, then push your branch and open a merge request back to the original.

How to fork​

Open any repository you can see and click the fork button (⑂) in the repository sidebar, next to Clone and Pin. git-shark creates a new repository at /<your-handle>/<name> and sends you straight to it.

The fork starts as a faithful copy of the source at that moment:

  • the same name, description, and visibility as the source;
  • every branch and tag, with the same default branch;
  • a “forked from owner/name” link in the sidebar pointing back at the original.

You own the fork outright — push, rename, change its visibility, or delete it without touching the original. A fork does not stay in sync with its source automatically; pulling later changes from upstream is a manual git operation for now.

What you can fork​

You can fork any repository you are allowed to read: every public repository, plus private ones you own or that are shared with you (as a collaborator or through an organisation). A private repository can never be forked by someone who cannot already read it, so forking never exposes a private project.

If you fork a private repository, your fork is created private too.

If you already have a fork​

You can only have one repository of a given name in your namespace. If you already forked a project (or own a repository with that name), the fork button simply takes you to that existing repository instead of creating a duplicate.

Forking from the API or an AI client​

  • REST: POST /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{name}/fork with your access token — see the admin reference.
  • MCP: the forkRepository tool, listed in the AI clients guide.