convert-to-fork

Turn a clone into a fork setup, in one command — no gh CLI required.

origin   (some-org/repo)     ──┐
                                ├──►  upstream = some-org/repo
origin   (you/repo, new fork) ◄┘     origin   = you/repo (created via GitHub API)

What it does

1. Renames the current origin remote to upstream.
2. Calls the GitHub REST API to fork that repo under your account.
3. Adds a new origin remote pointing at your fork.
4. Fetches origin (retrying briefly while GitHub finishes provisioning the fork).

Install

npm install -g convert-to-fork

Or run it without installing:

npx convert-to-fork

Use

Inside any git repo whose origin points at a GitHub repo you don't own:

convert-to-fork

That's it — no arguments needed. It reads origin, authenticates, forks, and rewires the remotes.

Auth

You need a GitHub token with public_repo scope (or repo for private repos):

• Set GITHUB_TOKEN (or GH_TOKEN) in your environment, or
• Pass --token <token>, or
• Just run it — you'll be prompted for one (input is masked).

The first time you run it, you'll be prompted for a token once — it's then saved to ~/.convert-to-fork/config.json (mode 0600) so you're never asked again. Update it later with:

convert-to-fork --change-github

Options

convert-to-fork [--ssh | --https] [--token <token>]
convert-to-fork --change-github
convert-to-fork -v

--ssh             Force the new origin to use SSH ([email protected]:...)
--https           Force the new origin to use HTTPS (https://github.com/...)
--token <token>   GitHub token for this run only (not saved)
--change-github   Update your saved GitHub token
-v, --version     Show version and build credit
-h, --help        Show help

By default the new origin uses the same protocol (SSH or HTTPS) as the original origin had.

Token resolution order: --token flag → $GITHUB_TOKEN/$GH_TOKEN → saved token → interactive prompt (saved for next time).

Notes

• Fails fast and rolls back the origin → upstream rename if the fork can't be created (e.g. you already own the repo, or auth fails).
• Refuses to run if an upstream remote already exists, so it never clobbers one you've already set up.
• Works against GitHub Enterprise hosts too (uses https://<host>/api/v3), based on the host in your existing origin URL.
• Requires Node.js 18+ (uses the built-in fetch). Zero npm dependencies.

License

MIT