Fork with default branch only during pr create by williammartin · Pull Request #12673 · cli/cli

williammartin · 2026-02-12T16:36:32Z

Description

When gh pr create auto-forks a repo, pass default_branch_only=true to the fork API.

During pr create, the fork exists solely as a place to push the PR head branch, so it's pretty unlikely that this will be a breaking change (but of course, not guaranteed). I think it's fine to make this change and then see if we have to do any apologies.

Reviewer Notes

I haven't actually tried this out yet, juggling a few things, but I will ensure it has my eyes before merging.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Updates gh pr create to request forks with default_branch_only=true, reducing fork size/time since the fork is only used to push the PR head branch.

Changes:

Pass default_branch_only=true when auto-forking during pr create.
Update pr create tests to assert the REST fork request payload includes default_branch_only.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

File	Description
pkg/cmd/pr/create/create.go	Changes the fork API call to request default-branch-only forks.
pkg/cmd/pr/create/create_test.go	Adjusts the fork endpoint mock to validate `default_branch_only` in the request payload.

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pkg/cmd/pr/create/create_test.go

pkg/cmd/pr/create/create.go

BagToad

Approving since this LGTM, but I'll leave ya with a couple questions:

Do you think we should document this in gh pr create --help? Might be good.
Worst case - a user has a workflow that relies on getting all the branches, so we have a way for them to recover from this change? Can they run some git commands to fix their fork & workaround this behavior if they believe it to be undesirable?

williammartin · 2026-02-13T14:41:31Z

Do you think we should document this in gh pr create --help? Might be good.

Done.

Worst case - a user has a workflow that relies on getting all the branches, so we have a way for them to recover from this change? Can they run some git commands to fix their fork & workaround this behavior if they believe it to be undesirable?

git fetch upstream
git push origin 'refs/remotes/upstream/*:refs/heads/*'

(or whatever the remotes are actually called after this, but I assume that's what we do since that's the normal fork behaviour).

This MR contains the following updates: | Package | Update | Change | |---|---|---| | [cli/cli](https://github.com/cli/cli) | minor | `v2.86.0` → `v2.87.3` | MR created with the help of [el-capitano/tools/renovate-bot](https://gitlab.com/el-capitano/tools/renovate-bot). **Proposed changes to behavior should be submitted there as MRs.** --- ### Release Notes <details> <summary>cli/cli (cli/cli)</summary> ### [`v2.87.3`](https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.87.3): GitHub CLI 2.87.3 [Compare Source](cli/cli@v2.87.2...v2.87.3) #### What's Changed - Fix project mutation query variable usage by [@williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#12757](cli/cli#12757) **Full Changelog**: <cli/cli@v2.87.2...v2.87.3> ### [`v2.87.2`](https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.87.2): GitHub CLI 2.87.2 [Compare Source](cli/cli@v2.87.1...v2.87.2) #### ℹ️ Note This release was cut primarily to resolve a publishing issue. We recommend reviewing [the v2.87.1 release notes](https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.87.1) for the complete set of latest features and fixes. #### What's Changed - chore(deps): bump golang.org/x/crypto from 0.47.0 to 0.48.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12659](cli/cli#12659) **Full Changelog**: <cli/cli@v2.87.1...v2.87.2> ### [`v2.87.1`](https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.87.1): GitHub CLI 2.87.1 [Compare Source](cli/cli@v2.87.0...v2.87.1) #### ⚠️ Incomplete Release The v2.87.1 release experienced a failure in our workflow and is not fully published to the designated package managers/repositories. This is resolved in [v2.87.2](https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.87.2), so we recommend using that release instead. #### What's Changed - Remove license bundling debris by [@williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#12716](cli/cli#12716) - fix(agent-task/capi): use a fixed CAPI API version by [@babakks](https://github.com/babakks) in [#12731](cli/cli#12731) **Full Changelog**: <cli/cli@v2.87.0...v2.87.1> ### [`v2.87.0`](https://github.com/cli/cli/releases/tag/v2.87.0): GitHub CLI 2.87.0 [Compare Source](cli/cli@v2.86.0...v2.87.0) #### `gh workflow run` immediately returns workflow run URL One of our most requested features - with the latest changes in GitHub API, `gh workflow run` will immediately print the created workflow run URL. #### Improved `gh auth login` experience in VM/WSL environments We have observed rare cases of time drift between the wall and monotonic clocks, mostly in WSL or VM environments, causing failures during polling for the OAuth token. This new release implements measures to account for such situations. If you continue to experience `gh auth login` issues in WSL, please comment in [#9370](cli/cli#9370) ####

Request Copilot Code Review from `gh` + performance improvements `gh pr edit` now supports [Copilot Code Review](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/using-github-copilot/code-review/using-copilot-code-review) as a reviewer. You can request a review from Copilot using the `--add-reviewer @copilot` flag or interactively by selecting reviewers in the prompts. This release also introduces a new search experience for selecting reviewers and assignees in `gh pr edit`. Instead of loading all collaborators and teams upfront, results are now fetched based on inputs to a new search option. Initial options are suggestions based on those involved with the pull request already. ``` ? Reviewers [Use arrows to move, space to select, <right> to all, <left> to none, type to filter] [ ] Search (7472 more) [x] BagToad (Kynan Ware) > [x] Copilot (AI) ``` This experience will follow in `gh pr create` and `gh issue` for assignees in a later release. #### What's Changed ##### ✨ Features - Bundle licenses at release time by [@williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#12625](cli/cli#12625) - Add `--query` flag to `project item-list` by [@williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#12696](cli/cli#12696) - feat(workflow run): retrieve workflow dispatch run details by [@babakks](https://github.com/babakks) in [#12695](cli/cli#12695) - Pin REST API version to 2022-11-28 by [@williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#12680](cli/cli#12680) - Respect `--exit-status` with `--log` and `--log-failed` in `run view` by [@williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#12679](cli/cli#12679) - Fork with default branch only during pr create by [@williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#12673](cli/cli#12673) - `gh pr edit`: Add support for Copilot as reviewer with search capability, performance and accessibility improvements by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12567](cli/cli#12567) - `gh pr edit`: new interactive prompt for assignee selection, performance and accessibility improvements by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12526](cli/cli#12526) ##### 📚 Docs & Chores - Clean up project item-list query addition changes by [@williammartin](https://github.com/williammartin) in [#12714](cli/cli#12714) - `gh release upload`: Clarify `--clobber` flag deletes assets before re-uploading by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12711](cli/cli#12711) - Add usage examples to `gh gist edit` command by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12710](cli/cli#12710) - Remove feedback issue template by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12708](cli/cli#12708) - Migrate issue triage workflows to shared workflows by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12677](cli/cli#12677) - Migrate MR triage workflows to shared workflows by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12707](cli/cli#12707) - Add missing TODO comments for featuredetection if-statements by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12701](cli/cli#12701) - Add manual dispatch to bump-go workflow by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12631](cli/cli#12631) - typo: dont to don't by [@cuiweixie](https://github.com/cuiweixie) in [#12554](cli/cli#12554) - Fix fmt.Errorf format argument in ParseFullReference by [@mikelolasagasti](https://github.com/mikelolasagasti) in [#12516](cli/cli#12516) - Lint source.md by [@Sethispr](https://github.com/Sethispr) in [#12521](cli/cli#12521) #####

Dependencies - chore(deps): bump golang.org/x/text from 0.32.0 to 0.33.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12468](cli/cli#12468) - chore(deps): bump golang.org/x/term from 0.38.0 to 0.39.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12616](cli/cli#12616) - Bump go to 1.25.7 by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12630](cli/cli#12630) - chore(deps): bump golang.org/x/crypto from 0.46.0 to 0.47.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12629](cli/cli#12629) - chore: bump `cli/oauth` to `v1.2.2` by [@babakks](https://github.com/babakks) in [#12573](cli/cli#12573) - update Go to 1.25.6 by [@BagToad](https://github.com/BagToad) in [#12580](cli/cli#12580) - chore(deps): bump actions/attest-build-provenance from 3.1.0 to 3.2.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12558](cli/cli#12558) - chore(deps): bump github.com/sigstore/rekor from 1.4.3 to 1.5.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12524](cli/cli#12524) - chore(deps): bump github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf/v2 from 2.3.1 to 2.4.1 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12555](cli/cli#12555) - chore(deps): bump github.com/gdamore/tcell/v2 from 2.13.4 to 2.13.7 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12469](cli/cli#12469) - chore(deps): bump github.com/sigstore/sigstore from 1.10.0 to 1.10.4 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12525](cli/cli#12525) - chore(deps): bump github.com/theupdateframework/go-tuf/v2 from 2.3.0 to 2.3.1 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12515](cli/cli#12515) - chore(deps): bump actions/download-artifact from 6 to 7 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12314](cli/cli#12314) - chore(deps): bump actions/upload-artifact from 5 to 6 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12315](cli/cli#12315) - chore(deps): bump goreleaser/goreleaser-action from 6.0.0 to 6.4.0 by [@dependabot](https://github.com/dependabot)\[bot] in [#12354](cli/cli#12354) #### New Contributors - [@Sethispr](https://github.com/Sethispr) made their first contribution in [#12521](cli/cli#12521) - [@cuiweixie](https://github.com/cuiweixie) made their first contribution in [#12554](cli/cli#12554) **Full Changelog**: <cli/cli@v2.86.0...v2.87.0> </details> --- ### Configuration 📅 **Schedule**: Branch creation - At any time (no schedule defined), Automerge - At any time (no schedule defined). 🚦 **Automerge**: Disabled by config. Please merge this manually once you are satisfied. ♻ **Rebasing**: Whenever MR becomes conflicted, or you tick the rebase/retry checkbox. 🔕 **Ignore**: Close this MR and you won't be reminded about this update again. --- - [ ] If you want to rebase/retry this MR, check this box --- This MR has been generated by [Renovate Bot](https://github.com/renovatebot/renovate).

fork default branch only in pr create

7448aed

williammartin temporarily deployed to cli-automation February 12, 2026 16:36 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

williammartin marked this pull request as ready for review February 12, 2026 16:46

williammartin requested a review from a team as a code owner February 12, 2026 16:46

williammartin requested review from BagToad and Copilot February 12, 2026 16:46

williammartin temporarily deployed to cli-automation February 12, 2026 16:46 — with GitHub Actions Inactive

cliAutomation assigned williammartin Feb 12, 2026

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 12, 2026

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BagToad approved these changes Feb 12, 2026

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document fork default branch behavior

2b5c3b5

williammartin merged commit 2c54a0d into trunk Feb 13, 2026
11 checks passed

williammartin deleted the wm-explore-fork-branches-in-pr branch February 13, 2026 14:50

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Fork with default branch only during pr create#12673

Fork with default branch only during pr create#12673
williammartin merged 2 commits intotrunkfrom
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williammartin commented Feb 12, 2026 •

edited

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williammartin commented Feb 13, 2026

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williammartin commented Feb 12, 2026 •

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