Yes, you can change your GitHub username at any time

GitHub lets you change your username in your account settings. The process takes about two minutes and does not delete your account or repositories. However, the change affects how people find you and how your old links work, so there are a few things to understand before you do it.

When you change your username, GitHub automatically redirects your old profile URL to your new one for the next year. This means links people shared will still work, but only temporarily. After 12 months, the old username becomes available for someone else to claim, and those old links will stop working.

Key Takeaways

  • You can change your GitHub username once per hour, with no limit on total changes.
  • Old profile URLs redirect to your new username for 12 months, then the old name becomes available to others.
  • Your repositories keep their URLs only if you update the remote URL in your local git configuration.
  • Any @mentions of your old username in issues, pull requests, or discussions will not automatically update.
  • Organizations, teams, and collaborators will see your new username when ready on their end.

Where to change your username in GitHub settings

Go to your GitHub profile page and click the profile icon in the top right corner. Select Settings from the dropdown menu. On the left sidebar, click Account. You will see a field labeled Username with your current name displayed.

Click the Change username button next to it. GitHub will show you a warning that explains what happens when you change it. Type your new username in the text field. GitHub checks in real time whether the name is available — if it is taken, you will see a red X; if it is free, you will see a green checkmark.

Once you have chosen an available name, click I understand, let's change my username. GitHub will confirm the change when ready. Your profile URL, your repositories, and your account are all updated at once.

What happens to your repositories and links

Your repository URLs change when your username changes. If your old repository was at github.com/oldname/myproject, it is now at github.com/newname/myproject. GitHub redirects the old URL to the new one, but only for 12 months.

If you have cloned the repository to your computer, you need to update the remote URL in your local git configuration. Open your terminal, navigate to the repository folder, and run git remote set-url origin https://github.com/newname/myproject.git. Replace newname and myproject with your actual new username and repository name. You can check that it worked by running git remote -v.

Any links you have shared in documentation, README files, or external websites will still work for a year because of the redirect. After 12 months, those links will return a 404 error. If you maintain public projects that others depend on, consider updating those links yourself rather than relying on the redirect.

How mentions and collaborations are affected

When you change your username, any @mentions of your old name in issues, pull requests, or discussions do not automatically update. If someone wrote "Thanks @oldname for the fix," that mention will still show your old username, even though your account now uses the new one. The mention will still link to your profile, but the text will not change.

Collaborators, organization members, and people who follow you will see your new username when ready. Their notifications and activity feeds will show the new name. If you are part of an organization, your role and permissions stay the same — only your display name changes.

Reasons people change their GitHub username

Some people change their username because they want something more professional for job applications or portfolio work. Others change it because their old name no longer reflects who they are, or because they made a username choice they regret. A few change it because they want to separate personal projects from work projects, though creating a second account is another option for that.

There is no penalty for changing your username, and you can do it as often as you want — GitHub only limits you to one change per hour. If you change your mind, you can change it back to your old username within the 12-month redirect window and reclaim it for free.

Planning ahead if you use GitHub professionally

If your GitHub username appears in your resume, portfolio, or professional profiles, update those places before or shortly after you change it. The redirect will keep old links working for a year, but you do not want someone clicking a link on your resume and landing on a 404 page after the redirect expires.

If you maintain open-source projects that other developers depend on, consider posting a notice in your README or pinned issue explaining the username change. This is especially important if your project is widely used, because developers may have bookmarked the old URL or linked to it in their own documentation.

If you use GitHub for work and your employer or clients reference your username in contracts, documentation, or internal systems, let them know about the change. It is not a technical problem — your account and repositories work the same way — but it prevents confusion on their end.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my username back to what it was before?

Yes, as long as no one else has claimed it. You have 12 months from the date you changed it. After that, the old username becomes available to anyone, and you cannot reclaim it unless the new owner releases it.

What happens to my GitHub Pages site when I change my username?

If you have a GitHub Pages site at oldname.github.io, it will stop working after you change your username. You need to rename the repository to newname.github.io and update any DNS records or custom domain settings you have configured. The site will be live again once the repository is renamed.

Do my followers and stars transfer to my new username?

Yes. Your followers, starred repositories, and all your account history stay with you. The only thing that changes is the name people see and use to find you.

Will changing my username affect my GitHub contributions graph?

No. Your contribution history, commit history, and all statistics remain exactly the same. The graph will show contributions under your new username going forward.

Can I use special characters or spaces in my new username?

No. GitHub usernames can only contain letters, numbers, and hyphens. They cannot start or end with a hyphen, and they cannot contain spaces or special characters like underscores or periods.