Project forks API

Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate Offering: GitLab.com, Self-managed, GitLab Dedicated

You can manage project forks by using the REST API.

Fork a project

Fork a project into your personal namespace or the namespace provided.

Prerequisites:

  • You must be authenticated.

The forking operation for a project is asynchronous and is completed in a background job. The request returns immediately. To determine whether the fork of the project has completed, query the import_status for the new project.

POST /projects/:id/fork
Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project.
branches string No Branches to fork (empty for all branches).
description string No The description assigned to the resultant project after forking.
mr_default_target_self boolean No For forked projects, target merge requests to this project. If false, the target is the upstream project.
name string No The name assigned to the resultant project after forking.
namespace_id integer No The ID of the namespace that the project is forked to.
namespace_path string No The path of the namespace that the project is forked to.
namespace integer or string No (Deprecated) The ID or path of the namespace that the project is forked to.
path string No The path assigned to the resultant project after forking.
visibility string No The visibility level assigned to the resultant project after forking.

List forks of a project

List the projects accessible to you that have an established forked relationship with the specified project.

GET /projects/:id/forks

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project.
archived boolean No Limit by archived status.
membership boolean No Limit by projects that the current user is a member of.
min_access_level integer No Limit by current user minimal role (access_level).
order_by string No Return projects ordered by id, name, path, created_at, updated_at, star_count, or last_activity_at fields. Default is created_at.
owned boolean No Limit by projects explicitly owned by the current user.
search string No Return list of projects matching the search criteria.
simple boolean No Return only limited fields for each project. Without authentication, this operation is a no-op; only simple fields are returned.
sort string No Return projects sorted in asc or desc order. Default is desc.
starred boolean No Limit by projects starred by the current user.
statistics boolean No Include project statistics. Available only to users with at least the Reporter role.
updated_after datetime No Limit results to projects last updated after the specified time. Format: ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ). Introduced in GitLab 15.10.
updated_before datetime No Limit results to projects last updated before the specified time. Format: ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ). Introduced in GitLab 15.10.
visibility string No Limit by visibility public, internal, or private.
with_custom_attributes boolean No Include custom attributes in response. (administrators only)
with_issues_enabled boolean No Limit by enabled issues feature.
with_merge_requests_enabled boolean No Limit by enabled merge requests feature.

Example request:

curl --header "PRIVATE-TOKEN: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/5/forks"

Example responses:

[
  {
    "id": 3,
    "description": "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.",
    "description_html": "<p data-sourcepos=\"1:1-1:56\" dir=\"auto\">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.</p>",
    "default_branch": "main",
    "visibility": "internal",
    "ssh_url_to_repo": "git@example.com:diaspora/diaspora-project-site.git",
    "http_url_to_repo": "http://example.com/diaspora/diaspora-project-site.git",
    "web_url": "http://example.com/diaspora/diaspora-project-site",
    "readme_url": "http://example.com/diaspora/diaspora-project-site/blob/main/README.md",
    "tag_list": [ //deprecated, use `topics` instead
      "example",
      "disapora project"
    ],
    "topics": [
      "example",
      "disapora project"
    ],
    "name": "Diaspora Project Site",
    "name_with_namespace": "Diaspora / Diaspora Project Site",
    "path": "diaspora-project-site",
    "path_with_namespace": "diaspora/diaspora-project-site",
    "repository_object_format": "sha1",
    "issues_enabled": true,
    "open_issues_count": 1,
    "merge_requests_enabled": true,
    "jobs_enabled": true,
    "wiki_enabled": true,
    "snippets_enabled": false,
    "can_create_merge_request_in": true,
    "resolve_outdated_diff_discussions": false,
    "container_registry_enabled": false, // deprecated, use container_registry_access_level instead
    "container_registry_access_level": "disabled",
    "security_and_compliance_access_level": "disabled",
    "created_at": "2013-09-30T13:46:02Z",
    "updated_at": "2013-09-30T13:46:02Z",
    "last_activity_at": "2013-09-30T13:46:02Z",
    "creator_id": 3,
    "namespace": {
      "id": 3,
      "name": "Diaspora",
      "path": "diaspora",
      "kind": "group",
      "full_path": "diaspora"
    },
    "import_status": "none",
    "archived": true,
    "avatar_url": "http://example.com/uploads/project/avatar/3/uploads/avatar.png",
    "shared_runners_enabled": true,
    "group_runners_enabled": true,
    "forks_count": 0,
    "star_count": 1,
    "public_jobs": true,
    "shared_with_groups": [],
    "only_allow_merge_if_pipeline_succeeds": false,
    "allow_merge_on_skipped_pipeline": false,
    "restrict_user_defined_variables": false,
    "only_allow_merge_if_all_discussions_are_resolved": false,
    "remove_source_branch_after_merge": false,
    "request_access_enabled": false,
    "merge_method": "merge",
    "squash_option": "default_on",
    "autoclose_referenced_issues": true,
    "enforce_auth_checks_on_uploads": true,
    "suggestion_commit_message": null,
    "merge_commit_template": null,
    "container_registry_image_prefix": "registry.example.com/diaspora/diaspora-project-site",
    "_links": {
      "self": "http://example.com/api/v4/projects",
      "issues": "http://example.com/api/v4/projects/1/issues",
      "merge_requests": "http://example.com/api/v4/projects/1/merge_requests",
      "repo_branches": "http://example.com/api/v4/projects/1/repository_branches",
      "labels": "http://example.com/api/v4/projects/1/labels",
      "events": "http://example.com/api/v4/projects/1/events",
      "members": "http://example.com/api/v4/projects/1/members",
      "cluster_agents": "http://example.com/api/v4/projects/1/cluster_agents"
    }
  }
]

Create a fork relationship between projects

Create a fork relationship between projects.

Prerequisites:

  • You must be an administrator or be assigned the Owner role on the project.
POST /projects/:id/fork/:forked_from_id

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
forked_from_id ID Yes The ID of the project that was forked from.
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project.

Delete a fork relationship between projects

Delete a fork relationship between projects.

Prerequisites:

  • You must be an administrator or be assigned the Owner role on the project.
DELETE /projects/:id/fork

Supported attributes:

Attribute Type Required Description
id integer or string Yes The ID or URL-encoded path of the project.