Git setup for opensource

Steps to setup git for contributing to opensource using best practices

Note: This guide assumes you have already installed git and configured your credentials using Git Credential Manager

Configure your fork

This guide refers to the original repository as the upstream repository and to the forked repository as the origin repository. I assume you already have a fork of the upstream and you git clone it already.

Script to synchronize master branch on your fork with the upstream master branch

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -o errexit
set -o pipefail
set -o nounset

ORG_NAME=$1
REPO_NAME=$2
BRANCH=$3

function setRemoteUpstream() {
    ORG_NAME=$1
    REPO_NAME=$2
    git remote add upstream https://github.com/$ORG_NAME/$REPO_NAME.git
}

if setRemoteUpstream $ORG_NAME $REPO_NAME
then
    
    printf --  "\033[37m  New upstream pointing to https://github.com/${ORG_NAME}/${REPO_NAME}.git is set \033[0m\n"
else
    printf --  "\033[37m  Making sure proper upstream is set to https://github.com/${ORG_NAME}/${REPO_NAME}.git \033[0m\n"
    git remote remove upstream
    setRemoteUpstream $ORG_NAME $REPO_NAME
fi

git fetch upstream $BRANCH
git branch -u upstream/$BRANCH $BRANCH

printf -- "\033[32m Now $BRANCH branch on you local fork is in sync with upstream $BRANCH branch \033[0m\n"
git branch -vv | grep $BRANCH

Save this script as conf_fork.sh inside the root of your local repository, this script will set the remote upstream as the orgs repo for your local fork

Usage

Open a terminal at the root of the repository.

The script accepts three parameters like so bash conf_fork.sh <ORG_NAME> <REPO_NAME> <MASTER_OR_MAIN>

Example

If you want to contribute to cli to AsyncAPI and you have forked the repo, then run the following:

bash conf_fork.sh asyncapi cli master

That's it, you now have your local master branch in sync with the upstream orgs master branch.

Start contributing

Create a local branch on your fork

git switch -c new-branch

Verify that the branch was created

git branch -a

Once you create a new branch you must run the --set-upstream switch the first time you perform a push.

git push --set-upstream origin new-branch

Or you can use the shorthand -u switch.

git push -u origin new-branch

All subsequent git push commands automatically move local branch changes up to the remote branch.

Once the git push of the new branch has completed check your remote to verify that the new-branch was successfully pushed.

Subsequent commits can be pushed directly by git push origin

Finally create a pull request from the branch of your forked repository to the master branch of the upstream repository and wait for the maintainers' review.