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How to Transfer a GitHub Repository to an Organization

May 26, 2025
github
blog

As a developer or freelancer, managing your GitHub repositories efficiently is crucial for collaboration and organization. Transferring a repository to a GitHub organization allows you to centralize projects under a team or brand, streamline access, and maintain commit history. In this guide, inspired by Jiwan Ghosal, we’ll walk you through the steps to transfer a GitHub repository to an organization using the GitHub interface, clone the transferred repository, and open it in Visual Studio Code (VS Code). This SEO-optimized tutorial is perfect for developers looking to manage their GitHub repositories effectively.

Why Transfer a Repository to an Organization?

Transferring a repository to a GitHub organization offers several benefits, especially for teams or freelancers managing multiple projects. Organizations provide a centralized hub for repositories, making it easier to manage permissions, collaborate with team members, and showcase projects under a unified brand.

Benefits of Transferring to an Organization:

  • Centralized Management: Group related repositories under one organization for better organization.
  • Team Collaboration: Grant access to team members with defined roles and permissions.
  • Preserved History: Retain all commit history, issues, and pull requests during the transfer.
  • Professional Branding: Host repositories under your organization’s github.io domain.
  • Streamlined Access: Simplify repository management for multiple contributors.

Step-by-Step Guide to Transferring a Repository

Follow these steps to transfer a GitHub repository to an organization, clone it to your local machine, and set it up for development.

Prerequisites

  • GitHub Account: Ensure you have admin access to both the repository and the target organization.
  • Git Installed: Install Git on your system for cloning repositories.
  • VS Code: Use Visual Studio Code for editing and managing your project files.
  • Organization Access: Verify you have permission to create repositories in the target organization.

Step 1: Navigate to Repository Settings

  1. Open your GitHub repository (e.g., vue-starter-kit) in a browser.
  2. Go to the Settings tab of the repository.
  3. Scroll down to the Danger Zone section, where you’ll find the Transfer ownership option.

Step 2: Select the Target Organization

  1. In the Transfer ownership section, choose the organization to transfer the repository to (e.g., stack-seekers).
  2. GitHub will check if the repository name is available in the organization. A green tick will confirm availability (e.g., vue-starter-kit is available).

Step 3: Confirm the Transfer

  1. Type the repository name (e.g., vue-starter-kit) to confirm the transfer.
  2. Authenticate the transfer using one of the following:
    • Authentication Code: Use a two-factor authentication (2FA) code if enabled.
    • Password: Enter your GitHub password if 2FA is not enabled.
  3. Click I understand, transfer this repository to initiate the transfer.
  4. Wait a few minutes for the process to complete. You’ll see a confirmation popup once the transfer is successful.

Step 4: Verify the Transfer

  1. Navigate to your organization’s GitHub page (e.g., stack-seekers).
  2. Confirm that the repository (e.g., vue-starter-kit) appears under the organization’s repositories.
  3. Check that the commit history, branches, and other metadata are preserved.

Step 5: Clone the Repository Locally

  1. Copy the clone URL from the repository’s page on GitHub (e.g., https://github.com/stack-seekers/vue-starter-kit.git).
  2. Open your terminal and navigate to your desired directory (e.g., cd ~/Projects).
  3. Run the following command to clone the repository:
    git clone https://github.com/stack-seekers/vue-starter-kit.git
  4. Change into the cloned directory:
    cd vue-starter-kit

Step 6: Open the Project in VS Code

  1. Open the cloned repository in VS Code by running:
    code .
  2. Verify that all files, including the .git folder, are present in the project directory.
  3. You’re now ready to edit, commit, and push changes to the organization’s repository.