# Editing styles in github repository

**URL:** <https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/editing-styles-in-github-repository/1026>\
**Category:** CSL Development\
**Created:** [July 9, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/editing-styles-in-github-repository/1026 "2011-07-09T20:30:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Frank\_Bennett](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/discourse.citationstyles.org/frank_bennett/32/198_2.png) [@Frank\_Bennett](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Frank_Bennett)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/editing-styles-in-github-repository/1026/1 "2011-07-09T20:30:51Z")

</div>

I’m still not in the swing of things with github. I recently made some  
changes to a style, following the guidance note in [README.md](http://README.md):\*\*\*  
The preferred way to make contributions is to:

1. fork the main repository
2. create a temporary development branch and make your changes there
3. commit your changes in one atomic commit per style in the master branch
4. issue a pull request to the main repository

* * *

The pull request was picked up, and the changes were published. Then  
the original style author made some adjustments to the code, submitted  
as a pull request which was also picked up and published. The master  
repo is in good shape.

Now I’m looking at the github fork I created, and I don’t see any  
means of pulling down the recent change submitted by the original  
style author. There seem to be three possibilities:

1. I’m missing something, and all I have to do is press the right button; or  
2(a). There is no simple way to pull down changes from the origin to a  
github fork, so the fork created for the edit should be thrown away  
immediately after submitting the pull request; and  
2(b). I would do better to clone the repo master and handle git from  
the command line instead, where this seems to be possible with “pull”.

Any guidance very welcome.

Frank

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Frank\_Bennett](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/discourse.citationstyles.org/frank_bennett/32/198_2.png) [@Frank\_Bennett](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/u/Frank_Bennett)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://discourse.citationstyles.org/t/editing-styles-in-github-repository/1026/2 "2011-07-09T20:45:43Z")

</div>

> I’m still not in the swing of things with github. I recently made some  
> changes to a style, following the guidance note in README.md:
> 
> * * *
> 
> The preferred way to make contributions is to:
> 
> 1. fork the main repository
> 2. create a temporary development branch and make your changes there
> 3. commit your changes in one atomic commit per style in the master branch
> 4. issue a pull request to the main repository
> 
> * * *
> 
> The pull request was picked up, and the changes were published. Then  
> the original style author made some adjustments to the code, submitted  
> as a pull request which was also picked up and published. The master  
> repo is in good shape.
> 
> Now I’m looking at the github fork I created, and I don’t see any  
> means of pulling down the recent change submitted by the original  
> style author. There seem to be three possibilities:
> 
> 1. I’m missing something, and all I have to do is press the right button; or  
> 2(a). There is no simple way to pull down changes from the origin to a  
> github fork, so the fork created for the edit should be thrown away  
> immediately after submitting the pull request; and  
> 2(b). I would do better to clone the repo master and handle git from  
> the command line instead, where this seems to be possible with “pull”.
> 
> Any guidance very welcome.

I think I may have hit the answer. The steps for sustained development  
in a personal fork seem to be:

1. fork the main repository
2. clone the fork to a local working copy, managed by a local github  
client of your choice
3. configure the local working copy to update from the original  
master, following the steps documented at  
[GitHub Support](http://help.github.com/fork-a-repo/)
4. create a temporary development branch and make your changes there
5. commit your changes in one atomic commit per style in the master branch
6. issue a pull request to the main repository
7. follow the steps documented at [GitHub Support](http://help.github.com/fork-a-repo/)  
or in the man or help pages of the local client to pull changes from  
the master repo as required

Does that sound right? It sounds very complicated, but that seems to  
be what the docs say.