Update Forked Repo with Git

When we fork a repository on GitHub and start working on our own version, the original (upstream) repository may continue to evolve. It’s important to keep our fork updated without losing any of custom changes. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to merge the latest changes from the upstream repository into the fork with Git.

0 - Clone the fork locally

If we do not clone the forked repo to local machine, please run:

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_REPONAME.git
cd YOUR_REPONAME

1 - Add the Upstream Remote

Add the original repository (upstream) as a remote. This allows us to fetch changes from the upstream repository.

git remote add upstream https://github.com/ORIGINAL_USERNAME/ORIGINAL_REPONAME.git

We could verify by:

git remote -v

2 - Fetch the Latest Upstream Changes

Fetch the latest changes from the upstream repository:

git fetch upstream

3 - Merge Upstream Changes into the Local Branch

Switch to our branch: (branch’s name usually master or main)

git checkout master

Then we merge upstream into our LOCAL branch with:

git merge upstream/master

NOTE: This merge sentence will bring us to a Vim page, to input our commit.

If we do not have any commit, we could press Esc and input the command below; and if we have a commit, please press Insert and input the commit, then press Esc and input:

:wq

Then they will merge successfully, and we will go back to PowerShell.

4 - Push the Merged Changes to Our Fork

Last but not least, update our repo on GitHub:

git push origin master