Local commits to forked feature branch

Problem Statement

A local clone of a GitHub repository contains uncommitted modifications. The objective is to fork the original repository to a personal GitHub account, configure the fork as the primary remote, and ensure changes are pushed to a new feature branch rather than the master branch. This setup keeps master clean and aligned with the original repository while isolating custom work in a dedicated branch.

1. Fork the repo on GitHub

2. Add your fork as a remote

In your local repo, add your fork as origin:

git remote set-url origin git@github.com:<your-username>/<forked-repo>.git

Use HTTPS instead of SSH if that’s how you cloned.

3. Keep the original repo as upstream:

git remote add upstream git@github.com:<original-owner>/<original-repo>.git

Verify remotes:

git remote -v

You should see:

4. Commit your changes (if not already)

Check status:

git status

If you have uncommitted changes:

git add .
git commit -m "Your message"

5. Create a new branch for your changes

Instead of pushing to master, create a new branch:

git checkout -b my-feature-branch

6. Push new branch to your fork

Push this branch to your fork (origin):

git push origin my-feature-branch

7. Keep master clean

Make sure your local master tracks the original repo:

git checkout master
git fetch upstream
git reset --hard upstream/master
git push origin master --force   # keep fork’s master in sync

8. Remove the original repo remote

If you no longer want the original repo (upstream) connected to your local repo, you can simply remove it:

git remote remove upstream

Check your remotes again:

git remote -v

Now you should only see your fork (origin).

References

/git/