How long should I keep my fork projects on github?

Question

When I have a feature request on a library in github, I would either

try to contact the author
and/or implement it myself on a local copy, and when I am done, fork the project and push my changes.

More often than not, the original authors are happy to see the enhancements, and they'll either pull them as is, or merge them manually after some modifications.

The question is, what should I do with my fork projects after my commits have been accepted by the upstream? If I am not going to make any further updates, should I delete the repository? Or, should I keep it around for historical interest?

github does not really indicate whose copy is the "definitive" repository, so my inactive forks may distract other people from finding the right copy. In fact, I just got a pull request form someone, which was also accepted at the upstream.

Github does indicate a project is a fork with a small "forked from ..." under the title. Also issues are off by default. — Schwern, Jan 18 '15 at 00:31

score 70 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 27 '10 at 14:31

70

If I have no interest in being an active contributor or developer, I usually delete mine after the patch has been accepted upstream. I don't see a need to keep the repo around for historical reasons -- the commit will already have my name and email, and the timestamp of the commit, so that seems to be all the historical record it really needs.

answered Aug 27 '10 at 14:31

mipadi

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It kind of feels weird to delete the repos while the commits survive elsewhere, but I guess it's similar to killing the "try" branch after merging it up to master. – Eugene Yokota Aug 27 '10 at 15:27
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Keeping old repos in your GitHub account shows your involvement in various projects. – Dan Dascalescu Oct 15 '12 at 04:35
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@DanDascalescu: Won't that still be reflected to by 'Repositories you contribute to'? – Bobby Jack Apr 08 '13 at 11:38

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 18 '15 at 00:01

3

It seems from my personal experience that deleting the forked repository also takes it away from the 'Repositories you contribute to'. Just be aware of it when taking a decision.

answered Jan 18 '15 at 00:01

nha

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There isn't much value in showing off you contributed to your own fork. So long as the pull request is accepted, the upstream contribution will remain. – Schwern Jan 18 '15 at 00:35
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@Schwern Althought I think that there can be situations where there is some value in showing what you care about please note that I am *not* discussing it in my answer. I was just pointing that out as an additionnal information. – nha Jan 18 '15 at 11:35

How long should I keep my fork projects on github?

2 Answers2

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