Reputation: 6151

Fork from a branch in github

Is there a way to fork from a specific branch on GitHub? … For example, moodle has many branches (1.9, 2.0 … and so on). Can a clone be performed of just branch 1.9 and not the master branch always? Is it possible to clone a specific branch onto my PC?

Upvotes: 37

Answers (9)

santiagopim

Reputation: 616

NO COMMAND LINE NEEDED.

Just create a new branch in your forked repository in GitHub (1), and GitHub will ask you if you want this new branch to be a clone/mirror from any branch in the upstream repository (2). You can give any name to the new branch.

Upvotes: 10

YouJiacheng

Reputation: 687

SOLUTION:

For remote repository on GitHub and local repository

After fork all branches to your GitHub repository, you can delete Redundant branches in your GitHub repository.

And then you can only clone the branches you need to local.

Step One

Step Two

Only For local repository

git clone -b <branch name> --single-branch <repository>

If you want to further save your disk space, you can clone remote repository without history:

git clone -b <branch name> --depth 1 <repository>

notice: --depth implies --single-branch unless --no-single-branch is given.

https://git-scm.com/docs/git-clone

Upvotes: 0

Achernar

Reputation: 11

I'm posting here the method I've used. Like the OP I wanted to only copy/fork one branch. But couldn't find an easy way.

in your repo create a new branch. It doesn't need to have the same name as the branch you want to fork
once created, verify that it is the selected branch, and click "Compare"
reverse the order of comparison (I have a userscript for that, see my profile if it's something you want to test).
the "base" repository must be yours, with the branch you've created
the "head" repository is the original, and the branch is the branch you want to fork
hit "create pull request" and continue until the PR is applied

That's it. You have the branch forked.

Upvotes: 1

Andrew Schreiber

Reputation: 14890

A fast, alternative approach is to create your own new repo.

Go to https://github.com/new and make a new repo. Do not initialize with README.

Scroll down to get your git remote

Then:

git remote rm origin
git config master.remote origin
git config master.merge refs/heads/master
// Run code from above image
git push --set-upstream origin yourbranchname

You will have a new repo with the original repo's code and a branch that can be made into a pull request.

Upvotes: 0

Timo Ernst

Reputation: 15973

For those who don't like working with command-line. Here is a simple guide using the desktop client for GitHub:

Click the fork button of the repo on GitHub.com:
Make sure you have the desktop client installed
Click this button:
Clone the repo

In the desktop client, select the desired branch

Select the branch you'd like to work on and you're done

Upvotes: 1

Rob

Reputation: 151

I'm using bitbucket but I'm sure this would work for GitHub as well.

Create a new repository
Checkout the branch using GitExtensions
Click Push to open the Push dialog
Set the destination URL to the new repository
Set the destination branch to "master"
Push

Your new repository will have the full history of the one branch only (not all branches like forking will have).

Upvotes: 0

Ishwor Khanal

Reputation: 1370

Yes, you can clone the single branch. For example, you have a branch named release1.0. If you would like to clone this branch into your pc then use the following line of code:

$ git clone [email protected]:git_username/git_repository_example -b release1.0 --single-branch

Upvotes: 1

Matthias Ronge

Reputation: 10102

I don’t know a native way yet, but you can do it following this recipe:

Fork the repository in question (called ‘upstream’) on the GitHub website to your workspace there.
Run the GitHub desktop application and clone the repository onto your PC.
Use the GitHub desktop application to open a shell in the repository. (The git commands are not available from the default PowerShell unless you configure that manually.)

Set the source repository as upstream:

git remote add upstream https://github.com/{user}/{source-repo}.git

Fetch the full upstream repository. (Right now, you only have a copy of its master branch.)
```
git fetch upstream
```

Make your file system copy the branch you want and give it any name:

git checkout upstream/{branch-in-question}
git checkout -b temporary

Publish your repo using the GitHub desktop application.
On the GitHub website, open your repository and click ‘settings’.
Change the “Default branch” to ‘temporary’. (Just change the drop-down menu, you don’t need to click the “Rename” button.)
Go back to your repository, go to the ‘branches’ tab, now you can delete the “master” branch.

Delete the master branch on your shell and make a new master branch:

git branch -d master
git branch master
git checkout master
git -d temporary

Once more, publish your repo using the GitHub desktop application.
On the GitHub website, open your repository and click ‘settings’.
Change the “Default branch” back to the (new) ‘master’ branch.
Go back to your repository, go to the ‘branches’ tab, now you can delete the “temporary” branch.

This should be what you were looking for. Perhaps GitHub will provide a more convenient way to do this in future (e.g., clicking “Fork” from a project’s branch results in exactly this behaviour).

Upvotes: 28

iltempo

Reputation: 16012

Cloning means that you create a copy of the whole repository in your account including all branches and tags. However you are free to switch and track branches however you like.

Upvotes: 7

Fork from a branch in github

Answers (9)

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