Is it possible to 'fork a fork' in Github?

Question

I am currently working on a project that is a spinoff (fork) from a framework I have been working on.

This project is intended to be pretty generic, but now I need to fork the codebase again for a client of mine.

At this moment, I have created a custom branch for my client, but I'd rather have a standalone repository for this.

• Is is possible to 'fork a fork'?
• If not, what alternatives do I have?

Outline of the situation:

• Framework repository (original)
  • Generic application repository (fork)
    • (not yet) Client repository (fork of application)

Note: when trying to 'fork a fork' in Github, you will receive a notification that you have already forked the project:

Solution 1

I contacted GitHub support about this 'issue' and they confirmed this is not possible. Also, it is very unlikely that such a feature will be implemented in the future.

Solution 2

This is now very possible. You just go to the fork you want to fork and click "fork" like you would always do. This only works if you don't have a different fork of that repository in your account already, though. If you do, you have to delete it.

Answered in a comment by iFreilicht

Since this is the correct answer now, it is better to highlight it.

Solution 3

Simple answer: Yes and no.

No, for a single account as you are unable to create two repositories with the same name (and forks always have the same name).

Yes, for multiple accounts. So you could setup an organization for your second fork.

Comments

[Rhys]

@Korakter that seems to be the problem: the original project is personal, the fork is organizational. The third one should be organizational...

[KingCrunch]

Don't see a problem: As long as the second and third repo goes into different organizations, it works.

[Rhys]

That still is the problem though; I'd rather not create another organization account for this, since it is technically still the same organization, and these are paid accounts.

[Tekkub]

You should use branches then, not forks.

[XP1]

@Koraktor: "unable to create two repositories with the same name (and forks always have the same name)." Couldn't you rename the repository in Admin > Settings > Repository Name?

[Vineet]

"forks always have the same name" - so this should work if you rename the first fork. But renaming (as suggested by @XP1) does not seem to be enough to create a new fork.

[WestCoastProjects]

We have a solid scenario where this feature is required. In 2015: Is Github still insistent on not supporting this use case?

[iFreilicht]

This is now very possible. You just go to the fork you want to fork and click "fork" like you would always do. This only works if you don't have a different fork of that repository in your account already, though. If you do, you have to delete it. Here's an example: github.com/tmk/tmk_keyboard/network/members

[axkibe]

This is not a correct answer, since the person doesn't want to delete his original repository someone made a fork of, he/she now wants again to fork with their modifications.

[Andrew]

They ought to support having both a fork of the original repo and a fork of a fork, simultaneously. They only need to keep track of the parent repo id for it to work.

[Peter Gloor]

It's still not possible, two years later. I've been running into the same issue, today. In my case the original project is dead, so it's ok to create a clone of the original project that I still need for maintenance. But what if I wanted to contribute to two forks of the same project?

[Shital Shah]

Same issue. This is very questionable design at best and doesn't make sense at all.

[cormacncheese]

could you elaborate on where to find this?