Is It Safe To Change Your GitHub Username?

BIIS Editorial Board on October 21, 2022

GitHub is a code hosting platform for version control and collaboration. It’s a go-to resource for many developers, which means that your GitHub username is an important part of your online identity. But what happens if you want to change it? Is it safe to do so?

Yes if it safe to change your Github username. This won’t break your account and your old account will be forward to the new one. There are some downsides though. These aren’t major, but they are significant enough to take note of.

You’ll want to keep in mind a few thing…

  1. Enterprise users will not be able to freely change their username. Only an account admin will be able to.
  2. Github will not setup redirects for any @ mentions of your old username to the new one. These will be lost
  3. Links to gists that use your old username will also be lost (still assigned to the old username)
  4. Your old username will be available for others to take. It won’t be retired like a Blogspot or other username might be.

Changing Your Github Username

If you decide that you want to change your GitHub username, you can do so by going to the Settings page of your account and clicking on the “Change username” button. Once you enter your new username and confirm the change, your old username will be available for someone else to claim. So, if you’re worried about someone taking your old username, you don’t need to be; no one else will be able to use it once you’ve changed it.

There are a few things to keep in mind if you do decide to change your GitHub username. First, any links that pointed to your old username will now be broken. So, if you have any blog posts or articles that reference your GitHub account, make sure to update those links with your new username. Secondly, any contributions that you made under your old username will now be attributed to your new one; this includes commits, issues, and comments. Finally, changing your username will not affect any of the code in your repositories; only the name of the repository owner will change.

In Closing

All in all, changing your GitHub username is a pretty straightforward process that doesn’t have any major consequences. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before making the switch. So, if you’re considering changing your GitHub username, go ahead and do it—just make sure to update your links and contributions accordingly!