I was looking to a GitHub project that I wanted to clone in my desktop to try some samples: first of all I updated the GitHub Windows client that I suggest you to install if you want to follows some GitHub projects!
However,  didn’t remember how to do it and I unintentionally clicked the fork it button: from then, it appears as a new project for my account (as it is clearly explained in this  help page). Even thought editing my local copy and even make a sync will only edit my fork on my repo page, I won’t be able to update my local copy with future master project changes: so I wanted to delete, in my GitHub account, that accidentally forked project.

I found the deletion procedure of my fork not so easy to be found so in the following I’ll give you some advices how to do it: then, in a second section of this post, I’ll show you how to clone a project without forking it!! 😉

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1) Delete a forked project. 

First of all, go to your administration page clicking on your account name (e.g. continienzo) at the top right menu, then go to the Repositories tab to see all your projects in GitHub, like the forked one too.

If you want to delete one of them (e.g. SignaturePad), click on its name to go to its repository page: please notice that, on the bottom of the right side menu of this page, you can see that the HTTPS clone URL is the one related to my fork (e.g. https://github.com/continienzo/SignaturePad.git) and not to the master project.

To delete this forked project you must go to a not easy to find section, clicking the Settings link (always in the right side menu): at the bottom of that Settings page there is a red Danger Zone, that is the relevant one for deleting that repository.

After clicking the Delete this repository button, you will be asked to type the name of the repository you want to delete, that is your loginName/projectName (e.g. continienzo/SignaturePad), and click on the I understand the consequences, delete this repository button.

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2) How to correctly clone a project on our desktop

First go to the project’s GitHub repository you want to clone. Then, if not already done, login into GitHub site. Click the Clone in Desktop button, under HTTPS clone URL at the bottom of the right side menu.

IMPORTANT
BECAREFUL that, if you are not logged in the GitHub site when you click the Clone in Desktop button, it is always asked to you to install the “GitHub for Windows” application, even thought it is already installed!! So, please remember to log in before clicking that button …

Request to install GitHub for Windows (it happens also if you have already installed it BUT you are not logged!!)

If you have the GitHub Windows client installed on your desktop, the following popup will be prompted to allow the site to open that program: that client will be launched and ask you for the directory where to clone that project.

At the end, on the left side of the GitHub Windows client, also that new project will be listed among the previous ones and you can go to the directory of the cloned code, right clicking on the project name and choosing the Open in explorer overlay menu.

An alternative way to clone in desktop is to drag the URL of the repository from your browser onto the desktop GitHub client: therefore resize your browser window so you can drag the repository onto the GitHub windows application. It will immediately clone that repository to your local GitHub repository even if you are not signed in.