Question

What is the difference between forking and cloning a repository?

Answer 1

• Forking:

  • Creates a copy of the repository under your GitHub account.
  • Allows you to propose changes back to the original repository.
  • Is typically used when you want to contribute to a project you don’t own.

• Cloning:

  • Creates a local copy of the repository on your machine.
  • Is used to work on repositories, whether you own them or not.
  • Does not automatically provide a way to propose changes back to the original repository (you need push access or to create a PR from a fork).