What should I do if I fork a repo or gist, and it goes away?

[rfalanga]

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Over the years I have forked about a dozen repos I found very useful. I just forked a gist. But the thought just occurred to me that maybe those repos or gists might go away, for some reason. I think my forked copy would remain, although that might not be true. (Do forks of repos or gists remain, but am I wrong?)

Anyway, assuming that my forked repo/gist does remain, should I do something about the parent having disappeared?

[dotsystemsdevs]

You're actually right! If it's a public repo or a gist, your fork stays put even if the original owner nukes their account or deletes the repo. It basically just becomes your own standalone version.

The only time you’d lose a fork is if the original was private—then the forks usually go down with the ship.

Since yours are public, you don't really need to do anything if the parent disappears. But if you're worried about losing something super important, it never hurts to have a local clone on your drive just in case.

[thisistanishq]

Short answer: it depends on whether the original repo/gist was public or private.
If it was public:
*Your fork stays even if the original repo/gist is deleted or the owner removes their account.
*It basically becomes your own standalone repo.
*You don’t need to do anything special.

If it was private:
Forks usually disappear when the original is deleted or access is revoked.

Good practice (optional):
*Keep a local clone if the repo/gist is important to you.
*Update the README to explain the original source is gone, if relevant.

That’s it — nothing scary, and no action required in most public cases.

Quick visual summary: *Public repo/gist → your fork stays even if the original is deleted

*Private repo/gist → forks usually disappear with the original
For important forks, keeping a local clone is always a good safety net.