content/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/reviewing-changes-in-pull-requests/checking-out-pull-requests-locally.md

---
title: Checking out pull requests locally
intro: 'When someone sends you a pull request from a fork or branch of your repository, you can merge it locally to resolve a merge conflict or to test and verify the changes before merging on {% data variables.product.github %}.'
redirect_from:
  - /github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests/reviewing-changes-in-pull-requests/checking-out-pull-requests-locally
  - /articles/checking-out-pull-requests-locally
  - /github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests/checking-out-pull-requests-locally
  - /github/collaborating-with-pull-requests/reviewing-changes-in-pull-requests/checking-out-pull-requests-locally
versions:
  fpt: '*'
  ghes: '*'
  ghec: '*'
topics:
  - Pull requests
shortTitle: Check out a PR locally
---

> [!NOTE]
> Pull request authors can give upstream repository maintainers, or those with push access to the upstream repository, permission to make commits to their pull request's compare branch in a user-owned fork. For more information, see [AUTOTITLE](/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/allowing-changes-to-a-pull-request-branch-created-from-a-fork).

## Modifying an active pull request locally

{% webui %}

{% data reusables.repositories.sidebar-pr %}
1. In the list of pull requests, click the pull request you'd like to modify.{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}
1. To choose where you'd like to open the pull request, select the **{% octicon "code" aria-hidden="true" aria-label="code" %} Code** dropdown and click one of the tabs.

   ![Screenshot of a pull request title. A button with an arrow indicating a dropdown menu, labeled "Code," is outlined in dark orange.](/assets/images/help/pull_requests/open-with-button.png){% else %}

1. In the merge box, click **command line instructions**. Follow the sequence of steps to bring down the proposed pull request.

   ![Screenshot of the merge box in a pull request. The link to access command line pull request instructions is outlined in dark orange.](/assets/images/help/pull_requests/pull-request-show-command-line-merge.png)

1. Optionally, to view proposed changes in {% data variables.product.prodname_desktop %}, next to the **Merge pull request** button, click **open this in {% data variables.product.prodname_desktop %}**.

   ![Screenshot of the "merge messages" section on a pull request page. A link, labeled "Open this in GitHub Desktop", is outlined in orange.](/assets/images/help/desktop/open-pr-in-desktop.png){% endif %}

{% endwebui %}

{% cli %}

{% data reusables.cli.cli-learn-more %}

To check out a pull request locally, use the `gh pr checkout` subcommand. Replace `PULL-REQUEST` with the number, URL, or head branch of the pull request.

```shell
gh pr checkout PULL-REQUEST
```

{% endcli %}

## Modifying an inactive pull request locally

If a pull request’s author is unresponsive to requests or has deleted their fork, the changes proposed in that pull request can still be merged via a new pull request. However, if you want to make changes to a pull request and the author is not responding, you'll need to perform some additional steps to update the pull request.

Once a pull request is opened, {% data variables.product.github %} stores all of the changes remotely. In other words, commits in a pull request are available in a repository even before the pull request is merged. You can fetch an open pull request and recreate it as your own.

Anyone can work with a previously opened pull request to continue working on it, test it out, or even open a new pull request with additional changes. However, only collaborators with push access can merge pull requests.

{% data reusables.repositories.sidebar-issue-pr %}
1. In the "Pull Requests" list, click the pull request you'd like to merge.
1. Find the ID number of the inactive pull request. This is the sequence of digits right after the pull request's title.

   ![Screenshot of the title of a pull request. The pull request's ID number is outlined in dark orange.](/assets/images/help/pull_requests/pull-request-id-number.png)

{% data reusables.command_line.open_the_multi_os_terminal %}
1. Fetch the reference to the pull request based on its ID number, creating a new branch in the process.

   ```shell
   git fetch origin pull/ID/head:BRANCH_NAME
   ```

1. Switch to the new branch that's based on this pull request:

   ```shell
   [main] $ git switch BRANCH_NAME
   > Switched to a new branch 'BRANCH_NAME'
   ```

1. At this point, you can do anything you want with this branch. You can run some local tests, or merge other branches into the branch.
1. When you're ready, you can push the new branch up:

   ```shell
   [pull-inactive-pull-request] $ git push origin BRANCH_NAME
   > Counting objects: 32, done.
   > Delta compression using up to 8 threads.
   > Compressing objects: 100% (26/26), done.
   > Writing objects: 100% (29/29), 74.94 KiB | 0 bytes/s, done.
   > Total 29 (delta 8), reused 0 (delta 0)
   > To https://{% data variables.product.product_url %}/USERNAME/REPOSITORY.git
   >  * [new branch]      BRANCH_NAME -> BRANCH_NAME
   ```

1. [Create a new pull request](/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/proposing-changes-to-your-work-with-pull-requests/creating-a-pull-request) with your new branch.

## Error: Failed to push some refs

The remote `refs/pull/` namespace is _read-only_. If you try to push any commits there, you'll see this error:

```shell
! [remote rejected] HEAD -> refs/pull/1/head (deny updating a hidden ref)
error: failed to push some refs to 'git@github.local:USERNAME/REPOSITORY.git'
```

> [!TIP]
> When you remove or rename a remote reference, your local `refs/pull/origin/` namespace will not be affected by calls to `git-remote`.