title	description	tags
How to Create a Private “Fork” of a Public GitHub Repo	Step-by-step guide to clone a public repo into a private repository in your organization while still pulling in upstream changes.	git github private-fork cli

How to Create a Private “Fork” of a Public GitHub Repo | Step-by-step Guide

1. Clone the original repository locally
2. Create an empty private repo in your org
3. Create a local “fork” branch
4. Re-assign remotes
5. Push branches to your private repo
6. (optional) check the it worked
7. Get to work

Click here to watch the video 👇

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1. Clone the original repository locally

git clone https://github.com/<ORIGINAL_OWNER>/<REPO_NAME>.git

# Rename repo to whatever you want:
mv <REPO_NAME> <NEW_NAME>

# go into folder
cd <REPO_NAME> <NEW_NAME>

2. Create an empty private repo in your org

gh api \
  --method POST \
  /orgs/<YOUR_ORG>/repos \
  -f name='<NEW_REPO_NAME>' \
  -f private=true \
  -f auto_init=false

3. Create a local “fork” branch

git checkout -b fork

4. Re-assign remotes

Rename the existing origin (public repo) to upstream and add your private repo as origin:

git remote rename origin upstream
git remote add origin [email protected]:<YOUR_ORG>/<NEW_REPO_NAME>.git
git branch --set-upstream-to=upstream/main fork

Verify:

git remote -v
# origin    [email protected]:YOUR_ORG/NEW_REPO_NAME.git (fetch)
# origin    [email protected]:YOUR_ORG/NEW_REPO_NAME.git (push)
# upstream  https://github.com/<OWNER>/<REPO>.git (fetch)
# upstream  https://github.com/<OWNER>/<REPO>.git (push)

5. Push branches to your private repo

git push -u origin main
git push -u origin fork

6. (optional) check the it worked:

git remote show origin
git remote show upstream

7. Get to work

git switch main

(optional) BUT VERY SAFE

1. Remove push ability to the upstream

You can REMOVE the ability to push your now private (and probably NSWF filled) repo by running

git remote set-url --push upstream no_push

Then run git remove -v again, and you should the push remove

⚠️ However: GitHub pull requests are not tied to git push remotes.

When you push to your origin (your fork), GitHub sees:

• Your fork has new commits
• Your fork was originally based on the place you forked from
• GitHub suggests a PR back to upstream (since it knows the relationship)

✅ To be even safer, remove Github from offering PRs back to upstream:

👉 Detach the fork on GitHub:

1. Go to your fork: https://github.com/your-org/your-repo
2. Click Settings
3. Scroll to “Danger Zone”
4. Click “Detach fork” → Confirm

This will:

• Break GitHub’s fork link
• Make GitHub stop suggesting PRs back to the original place you forked from
• Keep your repo and remotes intact — you can still git fetch upstream from CLI

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Example

How to work privately and use the fork

Confirmed. You can treat fork purely as your “upstream sync” branch and do all your actual work on main. Here’s the streamlined flow:

1. Clone your private fork

   git clone [email protected]:YOUR_ORG/NEW_REPO_NAME.git
   cd NEW_REPO_NAME

2. Ensure your remotes are set

   git remote add upstream https://github.com/ORIGINAL_OWNER/REPO.git
   # (only if you haven’t already)

3. Update the fork branch from upstream

   git checkout fork
   # make sure fork tracks upstream/main:
   git branch --set-upstream-to=upstream/main fork
   
   git pull              # fast-forwards fork ← upstream/main

4. Merge upstream changes into your main

   git checkout main
   git merge fork        # brings in all upstream updates
   git push origin main  # pushes your updated main to your org

• You never commit on fork—it’s exclusively for pulling in the third-party repo’s updates.
• All your feature work, bug-fixes, PRs, etc. happen on main (or feature branches off of main).

Shortcut: Merging upstream directly into main

If you’d rather skip the extra branch, just do:

git fetch upstream
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main
git push origin main

Either pattern keeps your main clean and your “sync” branch dedicated solely to upstream updates.