Yes, you can change your GitHub username, but your old repositories and profile links will stop working

GitHub lets you change your username once every seven days. When you do, your old username becomes available for someone else to claim within about 90 days. Any links to your repositories, your profile, or your gists using the old name will return a 404 error — they do not automatically redirect. If you have shared those links anywhere, you will need to update them manually or let people know the new address.

The change itself takes effect when ready. Your repositories move with you, your contribution history stays intact, and your account keeps all its data. But anything pointing to the old URL breaks right away.

Key Takeaways

  • You can change your username once every seven days by going to Settings > Account > Change username on GitHub.com.
  • Your old username becomes available for others to register after about 90 days, so someone else could take it and create a new account under that name.
  • All links using your old username stop working when ready — GitHub does not redirect old URLs to your new profile or repositories.
  • Your repositories, stars, followers, and contribution history move with you to the new username.
  • If you have published your GitHub URL in documentation, on a resume, or in a project README, you will need to update those references yourself.

How to change your username on GitHub

Log into GitHub and go to the top right corner where your profile picture appears. Click it and select Settings. On the left sidebar, click Account. Under the "Change username" section, type your new username and click Change username. GitHub will tell you if the name is already taken or if it contains characters that are not allowed.

The new username must be between 1 and 39 characters, use only letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores, and cannot start or end with a hyphen. GitHub will show you a preview of what your new profile URL will look like before you confirm the change.

What breaks when you change your username

Any URL that includes your old username stops working. This includes your profile page, your repositories, your gists, your wiki pages, and any GitHub Pages site you host under your username. If someone clicks an old link or tries to visit your old profile URL, they will see a 404 error page.

GitHub does not set up redirects from the old username to the new one. If you have shared links to your repositories in a README file, on your website, in documentation, or on social media, those links will be broken. You will need to find and update each one. If your GitHub Pages site uses a URL like username.github.io, that site will go offline until you update the repository name to match your new username.

What stays the same after you change your username

Your repositories, code, commit history, and all your contributions move with you. Your followers and the people you follow stay connected to your account. Your stars, pull requests, issues, and project boards all remain. Your account ID — the number GitHub uses internally — never changes, so any integrations or tools that reference your account by ID will keep working.

If you have two-factor authentication or SSH keys set up, those remain active. Your email address and password do not change. Any GitHub Organizations you belong to will still show you as a member, though your username will appear as the new one in the organization's member list.

Why your old username becomes available again

After you change your username, GitHub holds it for about 90 days. During that time, no one else can register it. After 90 days, the old username goes back into the pool and someone else can claim it. If you think you might want to use the old username again in the future, you have that window to change back. After 90 days, you cannot reclaim it if someone else has already taken it.

This is why it matters to update any public links quickly. If you leave old links published and someone registers your old username, they could potentially impersonate you or confuse people about which account is actually yours.

Changing your username in other places

Changing your GitHub username does not change your username on any other platform. If you use the same username on GitLab, Bitbucket, npm, Docker Hub, or anywhere else, you will need to change those separately. Each service has its own account settings and its own rules about how often you can change your username.

If you have published your GitHub username in your email signature, on your resume, in a portfolio, or on your personal website, update those too. The sooner you do, the less chance someone will click an old link and find a broken page.

What to do before you change your username

Make a list of everywhere you have shared your GitHub URL. Check your README files, your website, your LinkedIn profile, your portfolio, your email signature, and any documentation you have written. Search your email for messages where you sent someone a link to your GitHub profile or a specific repository. Once you have the list, you can update those links after you make the change.

If you maintain a project that other people depend on, consider posting a notice in your repository or on your project's website before you change your username. Let people know the old links will break and where to find you under the new name. If your project is widely used, you might wait to change your username until you have time to update all the documentation and notify users.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my username back to the old one after 90 days?

No. After 90 days, your old username becomes available for anyone to register. If someone else has already claimed it, you cannot get it back. You can change back within the 90-day window, but after that it is gone unless the person who took it decides to give it up.

Will my GitHub Pages site still work after I change my username?

Only if you update the repository name. If your site is hosted at username.github.io, you must rename the repository to newusername.github.io for the site to work again. The old URL will stop serving your site when ready after the username change.

Do I need to update my SSH keys or personal access tokens?

No. SSH keys and personal access tokens are tied to your account ID, not your username. They will continue to work after you change your username. You do not need to regenerate them or update any configuration files that reference them by ID.

What happens to my commits if I change my username?

Your commits stay exactly as they are. The author name and email in each commit do not change. Your contribution graph and commit history remain intact. The repository URLs change, but the commit data itself is permanent and does not depend on your username.

Can someone else take my old username right away?

Not when ready. GitHub reserves your old username for about 90 days after you change it. After that period, it becomes available. If you change your mind within 90 days, you can change back to the old username before someone else claims it.