docs/content/github/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/syncing-a-fork.md

title, intro, redirect_from, versions, topics

title	intro	redirect_from	versions	topics
Syncing a fork	Sync a fork of a repository to keep it up-to-date with the upstream repository.	/github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests/working-with-forks/syncing-a-fork /articles/syncing-a-fork /github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests/syncing-a-fork	fpt ghes ghae * * *	Pull requests

{% ifversion fpt or ghes > 3.1 or ghae-next %}

Syncing a fork from the web UI

1. On {% data variables.product.product_name %}, navigate to the main page of the forked repository that you want to sync with the upstream repository.
2. Select the Fetch upstream drop-down.
3. Review the details about the commits from the upstream repository, then click Fetch and merge.

If the changes from the upstream repository cause conflicts, {% data variables.product.company_short %} will prompt you to create a pull request to resolve the conflicts.

Syncing a fork from the command line

{% endif %} Before you can sync your fork with an upstream repository, you must configure a remote that points to the upstream repository in Git.

{% data reusables.command_line.open_the_multi_os_terminal %} 2. Change the current working directory to your local project. 3. Fetch the branches and their respective commits from the upstream repository. Commits to BRANCHNAME will be stored in the local branch upstream/BRANCHNAME.

$ git fetch upstream
> remote: Counting objects: 75, done.
> remote: Compressing objects: 100% (53/53), done.
> remote: Total 62 (delta 27), reused 44 (delta 9)
> Unpacking objects: 100% (62/62), done.
> From https://{% data variables.command_line.codeblock %}/<em>ORIGINAL_OWNER</em>/<em>ORIGINAL_REPOSITORY</em>
>  * [new branch]      main     -> upstream/main

4. Check out your fork's local default branch - in this case, we use main.

$ git checkout main
> Switched to branch 'main'

5. Merge the changes from the upstream default branch - in this case, upstream/main - into your local default branch. This brings your fork's default branch into sync with the upstream repository, without losing your local changes.

$ git merge upstream/main
> Updating a422352..5fdff0f
> Fast-forward
>  README                    |    9 -------
>  README.md                 |    7 ++++++
>  2 files changed, 7 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
>  delete mode 100644 README
>  create mode 100644 README.md
``` If your local branch didn't have any unique commits, Git will instead perform a "fast-forward":
```shell
$ git merge upstream/main
> Updating 34e91da..16c56ad
> Fast-forward
>  README.md                 |    5 +++--
>  1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

{% tip %}

Tip: Syncing your fork only updates your local copy of the repository. To update your fork on {% data variables.product.product_location %}, you must push your changes.

{% endtip %}