# Fork

Concept · [Technical basics](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/technical)

Also called: forks, forked, forking, fork a repo

A copy of someone else's [repository](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/repository) under your own account, which you can change freely. Forks are how people propose changes to [open source](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/open-source) projects, and sometimes how a project splits into a new one.

**For example:** A team forks an [open source](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/open-source) chat widget, adds their branding, and keeps pulling in fixes from the original project.

## Connects to (4)

- [Repository](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/repository): The folder where a project's code lives, together with the full history of every change made to it.
- [Open source](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/open-source): Software whose code is published for anyone to read, use and build on, under a license that sets the rules for doing so.
- [GitHub](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/github): A website where developers store code repositories, review each other's changes and work on software together.
- [Pull request](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/pull-request): A request to merge the changes on one branch into the main code.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/fork