This version of GitHub Enterprise will be discontinued on This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2020-01-22. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Creating a new repository

You can create a new repository on your personal account or any organization where you have sufficient permissions.

Tip: Owners can restrict repository creation permissions in an organization. For more information, see "Restricting repository creation in your organization."

  1. In the upper-right corner of any page, use the drop-down menu, and select New repository.

    Drop-down with option to create a new repository

  2. Use the Owner drop-down menu, and select the account you want to own the repository.

    Owner drop-down menu

  3. Type a name for your repository, and an optional description.

    Create repository field

  4. Choose to make the repository either public or private. Public repositories are visible to everyone using your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, while private repositories are only accessible to you, and people you share them with. For more information, see "Setting repository visibility."

    Radio buttons to select private or public status

  5. There are a number of optional items you can pre-populate your repository with. If you're importing an existing repository to GitHub Enterprise, don't choose any of these options, as you may introduce a merge conflict. You can add or create new files using the user interface or choose to add new files using the command line later. For more information, see "Importing a Git repository using the command line," "Adding a file to a repository using the command line," and "Addressing merge conflicts."

    • You can create a README, which is a document describing your project. For more information, see "About READMEs."
    • You can create a .gitignore file, which is a set of ignore rules. For more information, see "Ignoring files."
  6. Click Create repository.

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