forkLocation

forkLocation is a term used in software development to denote the location or point at which a repository's development history forks from another repository. In common usage, forkLocation can refer to either the remote address of a forked repository (for example, the URL or path identifying the fork on a hosting service) or the specific commit or branch where the fork diverges from the upstream repository.

In version control workflows, identifying the fork location helps maintainers fetch and compare changes, submit pull requests, or synchronize forks with upstream updates. If the fork location is the remote URL, tools can clone or fetch from that location; if it is a divergence point, it identifies the base commit, tag, or branch used to create the fork.

In data schemas and automation, forkLocation may be stored as a string field or structured object containing upstream and fork identifiers, timestamps, and the ref names involved. This enables traceability of contributions and reproducible builds for forks.

Limitations: forkLocation is not a standard concept across all systems. Different platforms model forking differently; some use explicit upstream references, others rely on repository metadata, and some do not track the fork point at all.

See also: fork, branch, upstream, pull request, remote, repository.