Git and GitHub workflow#

The preferred workflow for contributing to sktime’s repository is to fork the main repository on GitHub, clone, and develop on a new branch.

Fork the project repository by clicking on the ‘Fork’ button near the top right of the page. This creates a copy of the code under your GitHub user account. For more details on how to fork a repository see this guide.
Clone your fork of the sktime repo from your GitHub account to your local disk:
```
git clone git@github.com:<username>/sktime.git
cd sktime
```
where <username> is your GitHub username.

Configure and link the remote for your fork to the upstream repository:

git remote -v
git remote add upstream https://github.com/sktime/sktime.git

Verify the new upstream repository you’ve specified for your fork:

git remote -v
> origin    https://github.com/<username>/sktime.git (fetch)
> origin    https://github.com/<username>/sktime.git (push)
> upstream  https://github.com/sktime/sktime.git (fetch)
> upstream  https://github.com/sktime/sktime.git (push)

Sync the main branch of your fork with the upstream repository:

git fetch upstream
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main

Create a new feature branch from the main branch to hold your changes:
```
git checkout main
git checkout -b <feature-branch>
```
Always use a feature branch. It’s good practice to never work on the main branch! Name the feature branch after your contribution.
Develop your contribution on your feature branch. Add changed files using git add and then git commit files to record your changes in Git:
```
git add <modified_files>
git commit
```
When finished, push the changes to your GitHub account with:
```
git push --set-upstream origin my-feature-branch
```
Follow these instructions to create a pull request from your fork. If your work is still work in progress, open a draft pull request.

Note

We recommend to open a pull request early, so that other contributors become aware of your work and can give you feedback early on.

To add more changes, simply repeat steps 7 - 8. Pull requests are updated automatically if you push new changes to the same branch.

Note

If any of the above seems like magic to you, look up the Git documentation. If you get stuck, chat with us on Discord, or join one of the community sessions on Discord.