Changing the visibility of a GitHub repository is a feature that allows you to take complete control over who has access to your project. This is crucial for control, confidence with certain data and for workgroup and system level collaboration. Below you may find a step-by-step guide, and related considerations, and best practices.
How to Make a Repository Public or Private
Navigate to Your Repository:
Open the repository in GitHub main page
Access Settings:
Click on Settings under your repository name. When you click To Setting->
if you do not see the Settings tab>>then look for that dropdown menu.
Locate the Danger Zone:
Then go to the bottom of the settings page till you reach the Danger Zone section.
Change Visibility:
Then click on Change visibility next to the option for changing repository visibility.GitHub Visibility (ad)
Select New Visibility:
Public, private and internal visibility options are among the different types of settings you can select from.
Confirm the Change:
When you are prompted to enter the name of the repo that you want to change setting for, type in the repository name and click on I understand, change repository visibility.
Things to Stop Doing with Visibility Updates
Effect on Collaborators: Switching to private will not allow anyone other than your existing collaboratorspecific access. Change Private → Public Pros: Anyone can now view the repository cs pros cons
Forks Management: If a private repository is made public, existing forks will be deleted and they’ll the changes here. That makes a private repository available by everyone to fork.
Billing info: Private repos may require a paid billing level on your GitHub account, depending on your usage and which plan you chose.
Best Practices
Check visibility periodically: Review the visibility settings of your Repository against what you are aiming to collaborate on.
Review Content Before Pushing to Public: We recommend inspecting the repository contents for sensitive information before turning a private repository public.
Announce Changes: Keep a record of anyone who had visibility to that merged work and let collaborators know when they will lose access so there is no confusion over expectations.
With those steps and thoughts in mind, you can manage who has access to your GitHub repositories easily — securely or collaboratively as required.
