How do I set up a private Git repository on GitHub? Is it even possible?

Question

I intend to share my source code on an invite-only basis to a few dozen users maybe. The source code itself should not be public. Participants are allowed and encouraged to subm

Answer 1

Bitbucket - Their plans seem to be the best. They give you way more than GitHub do for free accounts - in fact, I'm still only using the free plan - no need to sign up to the paid ones; plus the interface is almost identical to GitHub.

A repository on Bitbucket can have up to five private users with unlimited public or private repositories - the only thing you seem to be paying for with the paid accounts are more users to access your private repositories.

Answer 2

If you are a student you can get a free private repository at https://github.com/edu

Update

As noted in another answer, now there is an option for private repos also for simple users

Answer 3

Once you have a paid account on GitHub, it is not obvious how to create a private repository. To create a private repository for an organization with paid account, go to https://github.com/organizations/MYORGANIZATIONNAME.

The only way I've figured how to navigate there is:

• Go to to your organization's home page: https://github.com/MYORGANIZATIONNAME
• Click on the "Edit MYORGANIZATION's Profile" button at the top right
• Click on the "GitHub" icon at the top left (non-obvious)
• Click on the "News Feed" tab (non-obvious)
• Click on the "New Repository" button at the right ...

Answer 4

Update (2019, latest)

Since Jan 2019, GitHub allows private repositories for up to three collaborators.

Previous answer:

Here is the comparison for free plans listed by tree main Git Cloud based solutions:

Here is the comparison for paid plans listed by tree main Git Cloud based solutions:

Conclusion:

I'm not seeing people mentioning GitLab here, but it seems like the best free private plan for me. I myself am using it with no problems.

GitHub: If you have a student account or want to pay for $7 monthly, GitHub has the biggest community and you can take advantage of it's public repositories, forks, etc.

Bitbucket: If you use other products from Atlassian like Jira or Confluence, Bitbucket works great with them.

GitLab: Everything that I care about (free private repository, number of private repositories, number of collaborators, etc.) are offered for free. This seems like the best choice for me.

Answer 5

GitHub is a great tool in-all for making repositories. However, it does not do good with private repositories.

You're forced to pay for private repositories unless you get some sort of plan. I have a couple of projects so far, and if GitHub doesn't do what I want I just go to Bitbucket. It's a bit harder to work with than GitHub, however it's unlimited free repositories.

Answer 6

On January 7th 2019, GitHub announced free and unlimited private repositories for all GitHub users, paying or not. When creating a new repository, you can simply select the Private option.