Private Forking
Private forking is a software development workflow where a developer creates a private copy (fork) of a repository, typically to work on changes independently before contributing back to the original project. It is commonly used in open-source collaboration to isolate experimental features, fix bugs, or prepare contributions without disrupting the main codebase. This approach allows for safe experimentation and review before merging changes.
Developers should use private forking when contributing to open-source projects, as it enables them to make changes in isolation, test thoroughly, and submit pull requests for review without affecting the upstream repository. It is also useful for maintaining proprietary modifications to open-source software, where changes need to be kept confidential or managed separately from the public codebase. This workflow reduces risk and ensures code quality through controlled integration.