# How to Fork the OSSU Computer Science Repository: A Complete Guide > Learn how to fork the OSSU computer science repository to track progress, experiment, and contribute. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for your personal GitHub copy. - Repository: [Open Source Society University/computer-science](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science) - Tags: how-to-guide - Published: 2026-02-24 --- **Forking the OSSU computer science repository creates a personal copy under your GitHub account, allowing you to track curriculum progress, experiment with modifications, and submit contributions back to the upstream project.** The Open Source Society University (OSSU) maintains its comprehensive computer science curriculum on GitHub at `github.com/ossu/computer-science`. When you fork the OSSU computer science repository, you establish an independent workspace that mirrors the entire project history, branches, and file structure while maintaining a connection to the original source for future updates. ## Why Fork the OSSU Computer Science Repository? Creating a fork serves multiple practical purposes for learners and contributors. The repository's own [`README.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/README.md) explicitly recommends forking as the primary method to **track your progress** through the curriculum, enabling you to mark completed courses and add personal notes directly in your copy. Additionally, forking allows you to: - **Experiment safely** with modifications to course schedules or resource links without affecting the canonical curriculum - **Submit contributions** such as typo fixes, resource updates, or curriculum improvements via pull requests - **Maintain version control** of your personal learning journey alongside the evolving upstream content ## Step-by-Step Guide to Fork the OSSU Computer Science Repository ### Navigate to the Repository Open your web browser and navigate to the official repository URL: ``` https://github.com/ossu/computer-science ``` This page contains the main curriculum files, including the [`README.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/README.md) that provides the fork instructions referenced throughout the community. ### Create Your Fork Locate the **"Fork" button** in the upper-right corner of the repository page, positioned between the "Watch" and "Star" buttons. Click this button to initiate the forking process. GitHub will present a dialog prompting you to select the destination account or organization. Choose your personal GitHub account (or an organization where you have appropriate permissions). GitHub will then create a new repository named `computer-science` under your selected account. ### Verify Your Fork Once the process completes, your browser will redirect to your new fork URL: ``` https://github.com//computer-science ``` Verify that the repository header displays "**forked from ossu/computer-science**" beneath the repository name, confirming the upstream relationship. Your fork now contains identical content to the original, including all branches, commit history, and files such as [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) and the `.github/workflows/` directory. ## Working with Your Fork: Essential Git Workflows After forking, you'll need to clone the repository locally and configure it for ongoing use. The following workflows assume you have Git installed on your local machine. ### Clone Your Fork Locally Open your terminal and clone your fork to create a local working copy: ```bash # Clone your fork to a local machine git clone https://github.com//computer-science.git cd computer-science ``` Replace `` with your actual GitHub username. This command downloads the entire repository history, including the `coursepages/` directory containing course-specific resources. ### Configure Upstream Remote To keep your fork synchronized with the original OSSU repository, add the upstream remote: ```bash # Add the upstream OSSU repo as a remote git remote add upstream https://github.com/ossu/computer-science.git ``` Verify the configuration: ```bash git remote -v ``` You should see both `origin` (pointing to your fork) and `upstream` (pointing to ossu/computer-science). ### Sync with Upstream Changes Periodically update your fork to incorporate changes from the main OSSU repository: ```bash # Fetch upstream changes git fetch upstream # Checkout your main branch git checkout main # Merge upstream changes into your fork git merge upstream/main # Push updated main branch to your fork git push origin main ``` This workflow ensures your local copy includes the latest curriculum updates, bug fixes in [`.github/workflows/delete-empty-issues.yml`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/.github/workflows/delete-empty-issues.yml), or changes to [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md). ### Track Progress and Contribute Use branches to track your personal progress or prepare contributions: ```bash # Create a new branch for tracking progress git checkout -b my-progress # Make changes (e.g., mark completed courses in README) git add . git commit -m "Add progress marker for Algorithms course" # Push branch to your fork git push origin my-progress ``` To contribute changes back to OSSU, open a **Pull Request** via the GitHub web interface, selecting your branch as the compare branch and `ossu/computer-science:main` as the base. ## Key Files in the OSSU Repository Understanding the repository structure helps you navigate your fork effectively: - **[`README.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/README.md)** – The central curriculum hub containing course listings, prerequisites, and the official fork instructions referenced throughout the community. - **[`CONTRIBUTING.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)** – Guidelines for submitting improvements, essential reading if you plan to open pull requests from your fork. - **[`.github/workflows/delete-empty-issues.yml`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/.github/workflows/delete-empty-issues.yml)** – Example GitHub Actions configuration demonstrating that forks retain automation workflows from the original repository. - **`coursepages/`** – Directory containing detailed course-specific README files and resources for each subject in the curriculum. ## Summary - **Forking** the OSSU computer science repository creates a personal GitHub copy at `github.com//computer-science` while maintaining an upstream link to `ossu/computer-science`. - The **Fork button** in the upper-right corner of the repository page initiates the process, which the [`README.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/README.md) explicitly recommends for tracking curriculum progress. - After forking, **clone locally**, **add an upstream remote**, and periodically **sync with `git fetch upstream`** to incorporate curriculum updates. - Use **branches** to track personal progress or prepare contributions, following guidelines in [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) when submitting pull requests. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How do I keep my fork of the OSSU computer science repository updated with the latest curriculum changes? Configure an upstream remote pointing to `https://github.com/ossu/computer-science.git`, then periodically run `git fetch upstream`, checkout your main branch, and execute `git merge upstream/main` followed by `git push origin main`. This workflow ensures your personal copy includes the latest updates to course listings in [`README.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/README.md) and resources in the `coursepages/` directory. ### Can I use my fork to track which OSSU courses I've completed? Yes, forking is the recommended method for progress tracking according to the repository's [`README.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/README.md). After creating your fork, you can edit the [`README.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/README.md) file in your personal copy to mark completed courses, add completion dates, or include personal notes. Commit these changes to a dedicated branch such as `my-progress` to maintain a clear history of your academic journey through the curriculum. ### What is the difference between forking and cloning the OSSU repository? **Forking** creates a copy of the repository under your GitHub account on GitHub's servers, establishing a persistent relationship with the upstream `ossu/computer-science` repository that enables pull requests and synchronization. **Cloning** merely downloads a copy of a repository (either the original or your fork) to your local machine for editing. To contribute to OSSU or maintain a personal progress tracker, you should first fork the repository on GitHub, then clone your fork locally using `git clone https://github.com//computer-science.git`. ### Do I need special permissions to fork the OSSU computer science repository? No, forking requires no special permissions because the OSSU computer science repository is publicly available under an open-source license. Any GitHub user can click the **Fork** button in the upper-right corner of the repository page to create a personal copy. However, if you wish to contribute changes back to the upstream repository via pull requests, you should review the [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](https://github.com/ossu/computer-science/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md) file in your fork for guidelines on submission standards and commit message conventions.