I’ve been developing web applications using Git and GitHub mostly by myself. Now I have a teammate joining my current project and I need advice on the best way to collaborate.
Right now my colleague created a fork of my repository and sends pull requests whenever he completes features. This approach has some issues though. Since I’m more active with commits, his fork gets out of sync quickly. Even when he hasn’t modified anything since his last successful merge, new pull requests often have conflicts.
It feels like he should just create a fresh fork each time, but that seems wrong. Are we missing something important here? Would it be better to use feature branches in the same repository instead of separate forks? Or maybe combine both approaches?
Forks can complicate collaboration between just two developers. It’s essential for your colleague to regularly sync his fork with upstream changes to avoid conflicts, but a simpler solution might be to eliminate the fork setup altogether. Grant him direct access to the main repository and adopt a feature branch workflow. Each of you can work on separate branches and merge back through pull requests, which streamlines the process and reduces sync issues. This approach has significantly decreased our merge conflicts.
that fork thing is a real pain, huh? just let your teammate do work directly on the main repo. it’ll clear up so many sync issues. just remember to both pull changes before starting new stuff and push regularly. you’ll defo see less conflicts!
for sure! keeping his fork updated with the main repo is key. regular pulls will help avoid those annoying conflicts. and yeah, fresh forks can just complicate things more if not synced right. collaboration is all about staying in sync, right?
The fork approach works, but your colleague has to keep syncing his fork with your repo before starting anything new. He’d need to add your original repo as upstream and pull changes constantly. For just two people though, I’d skip the fork hassle and use feature branches in the same repo instead. You’re both working from the same codebase, so no sync headaches. Just create a develop branch for integration and work on separate feature branches, then merge through pull requests. Conflicts only pop up during actual merges, not constantly because someone’s fork is outdated. Plus this approach scales way better when you add more people.
Been there, done that. The constant conflicts happen because you didn’t set up a proper workflow from the start. Here’s what fixed it for us: we both work in the same repo but follow strict pull/push rules. One person becomes the integration manager and handles all merges to main. The other dev creates feature branches and submits internal pull requests. The game changer? Both devs sync with the remote repo daily, not just when features are done. This killed most of our sync headaches compared to the fork model. Honestly, forking is probably overkill for just two people anyway.