New program, and line of software development, derived from an existing one

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fork (software development)</span>

Fork (software development)

<p>In <a href="/en/Software_engineering" title="Software engineering" class="wl">software engineering</a>, a <b>project fork</b> happens when developers take a copy of <a href="/en/Source_code" title="Source code" class="wl">source code</a> from one <a href="/en/Computer_software" title="Computer software" class="mw-redirect wl">software package</a> and start independent development on it, creating a distinct and separate piece of software. The term often implies not merely a <a href="/en/Branching_(revision_control)" title="Branching (revision control)" class="mw-redirect wl">development branch</a>, but also a split in the developer community; as such, it is a form of <a href="/en/Schism" title="Schism" class="wl">schism</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span> Grounds for forking are varying user preferences and stagnated or discontinued development of the original software.</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">New program, and line of software development, derived from an existing one</div>
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<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg/170px-Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg.png" decoding="async" data-file-width="3320" data-file-height="12510" data-file-type="drawing" height="641" width="170" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg/255px-Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg/340px-Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg.png 2x" alt="Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg"></a><figcaption>A timeline chart showing the evolution of <a href="/en/Linux_distribution" title="Linux distribution" class="wl">Linux distributions</a>, with each split in the diagram being called "a fork"</figcaption></figure>
<p><a href="/en/Free_and_open-source_software" title="Free and open-source software" class="wl">Free and open-source software</a> is that which, by definition, may be forked from the original development team without prior permission, and without violating <a href="/en/Copyright" title="Copyright" class="wl">copyright</a> law. However, licensed forks of proprietary software (<i>e.g.</i> <a href="/en/Unix" title="Unix" class="wl">Unix</a>) also happen.</p>



In software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct and separate piece of software. The term often implies not merely a development branch, but also a split in the developer community; as such, it is a form of schism. Grounds for forking are varying user preferences and stagnated or discontinued development of the original software. Free and open-source software is that which, by definition, may be forked from the original development team without prior permission, and without violating copyright law. However, licensed forks of proprietary software also happen. 