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Larger contributions with a fork

Editing a single page on GitHub.com is convenient for small text changes, but does not allow you to see a live preview of the site while you are working. It also does not let you easily edit multiple files at once, such as a guide and a reference page or a sidebar entry.

Contribute PRs using an online code editor

(e.g. StackBlitz, CodeSpaces CodeSandbox, Gitpod, IDX)

You can also have a full coding experience editing your own personal copy of the docs repository (a “fork”) in an online IDE (integrated development environment). This will give you a code editor in the browser and a live preview of your site while you work without needing to set up any local development environment.

Each online IDE has its own shortcut URL for opening an existing repository, and will allow you to create pull requests after you have made changes. Many also have browser extensions you can install that will add a “open with” button to the page whenever you are visiting a repository in your browser.

https://stackblitz.com/~/github.com/withastro/docs

See specific instructions for opening an existing repository in IDX, StackBlitz, and Gitpod on their respective websites.

Note that CodeSandbox and StackBlitz provide Astro syntax highlighting in their custom code editors, while Gitpod supports the full Astro VSCode extension.

Contribute PRs by Developing Locally

To begin developing locally, checkout this project from your machine.

Terminal window
git clone git@github.com:withastro/docs.git

You can install and run the project locally using pnpm. Head to the pnpm installation guide to get that set up. Then, run the following from your terminal:

Terminal window
pnpm install
pnpm start

If you’re copying these instructions, remember to configure this project as a fork.

Terminal window
git remote add upstream git@github.com:withastro/docs.git

At any point, create a branch for your contribution. We are not strict about branch names.

Terminal window
git checkout -b add/partial-hydration-typo-fix

Helpful information about Forks

On GitHub you’ll need a “fork” of this repository to work on. This is your own copy where you can make changes. Read more about forks in GitHub’s docs.

Not sure how to get started with GitHub, forks, pull requests, or want a quick refresher? You might want to check out this free video series:

How to Contribute to an Open Source Project on GitHub

Creating a fork

To create your copy, click the Fork button at the top right of any page in this repository.

Maintaining a fork

When you first create your fork, it will be an exact copy of this repository. Over time, withastro/docs will change as the docs are updated, but your fork won’t automatically stay up-to-date. Here are some ways to keep your fork in sync with this repo.

Manually via the GitHub UI
  1. Navigate to your fork on GitHub

  2. Click Sync fork and then Update branch

Manually from the command line

In the terminal on your computer:

  1. Make sure you’re on the main branch: git checkout main

  2. Fetch and merge updates: git pull upstream main

  3. Push the updates back to your fork on GitHub: git push origin main

Automatically with a GitHub app
  1. Go to the “Pull” GitHub app page

  2. Click Install

  3. Follow the instructions to select your fork