Cloning repositories
Repositories on GitHub exist as remote repositories. You can clone public repositories owned by other people. You can clone your own repository to create a local copy on your computer and sync between the two locations.
You can also clone a repository directly from GitHub or GitHub Enterprise. For more information, see "Cloning a repository from GitHub to GitHub Desktop".
- In the File menu, click Clone Repository.
- Click the tab that corresponds to the location of the repository you want to clone. You can also click URL to manually enter the repository location.
- Choose the repository you want to clone from the list.
- Click Choose... and, using the Finder window, navigate to a local path where you want to clone the repository.
- Click Clone.
- In the File menu, click Clone Repository.
- Click the tab that corresponds to the location of the repository you want to clone. You can also click URL to manually enter the repository location.
- Choose the repository you want to clone from the list.
- Click Choose... and, using Windows Explorer, navigate to a local path where you want to clone the repository.
- Click Clone.
Forking repositories
To contribute to a project where you don't have write access, you can use GitHub Desktop to create a fork of the repository. Changes on your fork don't affect the original repository. You can commit changes on your fork, then open a pull request to the original repository with your proposed changes. For more information, see "About forks."
- If you've cloned a repository where you don't have write access and try to commit changes, GitHub Desktop will warn that "You don't have write access to REPOSITORY. Click create a fork.
- Click Fork this repository.
- To view your fork on GitHub, in the top right corner of GitHub, click your profile picture, then click Your repositories.
