Fork Management Template

AI-Driven Development

• 🤖 Built with AI - Developed and maintained using Claude Code and GitHub Copilot
• 📋 AI Task Assignment - Issues assigned to copilot or comments to claude invoke agents
• 📚 AI-Friendly Documentation - Comprehensive guides for AI agents
• 🔄 Automated Workflows - GitHub Actions with AI-enhanced PR descriptions and conflict resolution
• 🎯 AI-First Architecture - Designed with clear principals for AI understanding and modification

What is Fork Management Template?

This template automates the complex task of maintaining long-lived forks of upstream repositories. It's designed for teams who need to:

Preserve Local Changes	Smart Conflict Resolution	Release Versions	AI Development
Keep custom modifications safe while syncing upstream	AI-powered detection and resolution of merge conflicts	Align fork versions with upstream releases	Patterns and docs for AI agent integration

Perfect for: scenarios requiring controlled upstream synchronization with forked changes.

Core Architecture

The template implements a three-branch strategy that creates controlled integration checkpoints:

graph LR
   fork_upstream["fork_upstream<br/>(mirror)"] --> fork_integration["fork_integration<br/>(conflicts)"]
   fork_integration --> main["main<br/>(stable)"]
   
   style fork_upstream fill:#e1f5fe,stroke:#01579b,stroke-width:2px
   style fork_integration fill:#fff3e0,stroke:#e65100,stroke-width:2px
   style main fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#1b5e20,stroke-width:2px

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This flow ensures upstream changes are validated before reaching your stable branch, with AI-enhanced conflict analysis at each stage.

Key Features

Feature	Description
Automated Daily Sync	Pulls upstream changes with conflict detection
AI-Enhanced Analysis	Intelligent PR descriptions and conflict categorization
Branch Protection	Prevents accidental damage to stable branches
Release Correlation	Tracks your versions against upstream releases
Multi-AI Ready	Optimized for Claude Code and GitHub Copilot collaboration

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• GitHub account with repository creation permissions
• (Optional) Personal Access Token (PAT) for full automation:
  • Create a secret named GH_TOKEN in your repository
  • Required scopes: repo, workflow, admin:repo_hook
  • Without PAT: Manual configuration of branch protection and secrets required

Quick Start

1. Create New Repository

1. Click the "Use this template" button above
2. Choose a name and owner for your new repository
3. Create repository

2. Initialize Repository

1. Go to Actions → Select "Initialize Fork" → Click "Run workflow"
2. Follow the setup instructions in the auto-created issue
3. Configure your upstream repository and sync settings

How It Works

1. Daily Automation: Checks upstream for changes and creates sync PRs
2. Conflict Analysis: AI categorizes conflicts and suggests resolution approaches
3. Staged Integration: Changes flow through validation checkpoints
4. Release Tracking: Maintains correlation between your versions and upstream

See detailed architecture diagrams and workflows: Product Architecture