When creating your own Magento project you won't want them public, so you should clone our starter repo to your own private repo.

You can then start a Magento project that will be private to your Github repository.

Creating a private fork of the "Magento + Gitpod" repository located at https://github.com/develodesign/magento-gitpod, follow these steps.

This process is necessary because GitHub does not permit direct private forking of public repositories. 

1. Create a Bare Clone of the Repository : This creates a temporary bare clone of the repository. Perform this step in any directory on your computer, as this cloned folder will be removed later.

bash

$ git clone --bare https://github.com/develodesign/magento-gitpod

2. Create a New Private Repository on GitHub : Name this new repository as you prefer, relating it to your Magento + Gitpod project. If you're unable to create a private repository, consider applying for GitHub's Student Developer Pack for unlimited private repositories

3. Mirror-Push the Bare Clone to Your New Repository : After creating your new private repository on GitHub, mirror-push the cloned content to this repository. Replace <user_name> with your GitHub username and <new_private_repo_name> with the name of your new repository.

Navigate to the cloned directory:

bash

$ cd magento-gitpod.git

Then execute the mirror-push command:

bash

$ git push --mirror [email protected]:<user_name>/<new_private_repo_name>.git

4. Remove the Temporary Local Repository : Once you have successfully mirror-pushed the contents, you can remove the temporary local repository.

bash

   cd ..
   rm -rf magento-gitpod.git

5. Clone Your New Repository Locally : To work on your project, clone the new private repository to your machine. Choose a directory where you wish to clone; for example, in a code folder:

  bash

   cd ~/workspace/new-magento-project
   git clone [email protected]:<user_name>/<new_private_repo_name>.git

6. Add the Original Repository as a Remote (Optional) : If you wish to stay updated with potential future changes from the original Magento + Gitpod repository, add it as a remote. Ensure you disable push to this remote to avoid accidental push attempts.

 bash

git remote add gitpod-magento-upstream https://github.com/develodesign/magento-gitpod
git remote set-url --push gitpod-magento-upstream DISABLE

Verify your remotes:

bash

$ git remote -v

You should see your repository as origin and the original Magento + Gitpod repository as `gitpod-magento-upstream`.

7. Fetch and Rebase from Upstream (Optional) : To incorporate changes from the original repository into your work, fetch from upstream and rebase.

bash

   git fetch gitpod-magento-upstream
   git rebase gitpod-magento-upstream/master

By following these steps, you'll have successfully created a private fork of the Magento + Gitpod project, ready for personal or team development.

Thanks to the original Github private fork here https://gist.github.com/0xjac/85097472043b697ab57ba1b1c7530274

Lesson Summary

When creating a private Magento project, you should clone the starter repo to your private repository on Github by following these steps:

1. Create a bare clone of the Magento + Gitpod repository by running:
   git clone --bare https://github.com/develodesign/magento-gitpod
2. Create a new private repository on GitHub and name it accordingly, or apply for GitHub's Student Developer Pack for unlimited private repositories if needed.
3. Mirror-push the bare clone to your new private repository by executing:
   git push --mirror [email protected]:/.git
4. Remove the temporary local repository by running:
   cd ..
rm -rf magento-gitpod.git
5. Clone your new private repository locally by executing:
   cd ~/workspace/new-magento-project
git clone [email protected]:/.git
6. Add the original repository as a remote (optional) to stay updated with potential future changes:
   git remote add gitpod-magento-upstream https://github.com/develodesign/magento-gitpod
git remote set-url --push gitpod-magento-upstream DISABLE
7. Fetch and rebase from upstream (optional) to incorporate changes from the original repository into your work:
git fetch gitpod-magento-upstream
git rebase gitpod-magento-upstream/master

By following these steps, you'll have successfully created a private fork of the Magento + Gitpod project, allowing for personal or team development.

Reference: Original Github private fork