Merging all changes from a GitHub repository to a non-GitHub repository, similar to fork functionality

Question

I have a repository based on "https://github.com/MicrochipTech/amazon-freertos.git", I have pushed this to my own repository, which is not in Github so I believe fork is not possible. In my newly created copy I have added my application files as well as some changes to the amazon source files. This is committed and pushed to my private repository.

When the amazon repository eventually changes, is there some way that I can merge those changes into my repository, yet keeping the changes i have made to the previous version of that repository? Note that I will have modified some of the files that are part of the amazon repository so I cannot simply have it as a submodule.

Edit: As suggested I have:

git clone -b mchpdev_20210700 --origin microchip --origin microchip https://github.com/MicrochipTech/amazon-freertos.git
cd amazon-freertos
git remote add origin https://git-codecommit.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/v1/repos/my-amazon-freertos
H:\dev\test\amazon-freertos>git remote -v
microchip       https://github.com/MicrochipTech/amazon-freertos.git (fetch)
microchip       https://github.com/MicrochipTech/amazon-freertos.git (push)
origin  https://git-codecommit.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/v1/repos/my-amazon-freertos (fetch)
origin  https://git-codecommit.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/v1/repos/my-amazon-freertos (push)

H:\dev\test\amazon-freertos>git remote show origin
* remote origin
  Fetch URL: https://git-codecommit.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/v1/repos/my-amazon-freertos
  Push  URL: https://git-codecommit.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/v1/repos/my-amazon-freertos
  HEAD branch: (unknown)

H:\dev\test\amazon-freertos>git push
Username for 'https://github.com':

H:\dev\test\amazon-freertos> git push origin master
error: src refspec master does not match any
error: failed to push some refs to 'https://git-codecommit.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/v1/repos/my-amazon-freertos'

Looks like the push is going to Github rather than my repository now, I need to repoint it to my repo somehow. If I specify origin master I get the above error message

Edit: Following the commands above and committing with git push origin HEAD:master , I successfully uploaded the remote microchip repo as well as my own files to my own private repo and I am also able to pull changes from microchip repo, but pending verification on how it will work once there are updates there.

Answer 1

You can have multiple git remotes and pull in changes from either of them.

You can clone the original repository with a custom remote name, eg:

git clone --origin microsoft git@github.com:MicrochipTech/amazon-freertos.git

Then add your own remote:

git remote add origin git@<your-repository>.git

After making custom commits and your repository, you can pull in the latest changes from the original repository by specifying the remote after git pull :

git pull microsoft master # Pull from original repository

Git will merge the original repository's changes into yours. You will be prompted to fix merge conflicts if there are any.