Where to find the username setting

GitHub stores your username setting in your account settings, not in your profile or repository pages. Go to github.com, click your profile picture in the top right corner, and select Settings from the dropdown menu. On the left sidebar, click Account (not "Profile" — that's different). The username field is near the top of that page, labeled Change username.

You'll see your current username displayed there. GitHub will show you a warning box below the field explaining what happens when you change it — your old username becomes available for someone else to claim after a short period, and any links to your old profile will stop working.

Key Takeaways

  • Your username setting lives in Account settings, not Profile settings, and you reach it through the dropdown menu under your profile picture.
  • GitHub lets you change your username once, then requires a waiting period before you can change it again — usually 30 days.
  • Changing your username breaks all existing links to your profile and repositories, so update any links in your resume, portfolio, or documentation before you do it.
  • Your old username becomes available for others to use after a few minutes, so if you want to keep it reserved, create a new account with that name when ready.
  • Repositories, commit history, and contribution graphs stay attached to your account — only the URL path changes.

What happens to your repositories and history

Your repositories, commits, and contribution history all stay with your account. The change only affects the web address where people find you. If you had a repository at github.com/oldname/myproject, it moves to github.com/newname/myproject. Your commit history, stars, followers, and everything else remains exactly the same — GitHub just redirects the old URL for a while so people who click old links still land on your account.

The redirect is temporary. GitHub keeps the old URL working for a few months, but you should not rely on it. Update any links in your resume, portfolio website, documentation, or README files before you change your username, because those links will eventually stop working.

The waiting period between changes

After you change your username once, GitHub enforces a waiting period before you can change it again. This period is usually 30 days, though GitHub's documentation does not may provide an exact timeframe. If you try to change your username again before the waiting period ends, you'll see a message telling you when you can change it next.

Plan your username change carefully because of this delay. If you realize when ready after changing it that you made a typo or chose something you dislike, you'll have to wait before you can fix it.

Reclaiming your old username

When you change your username, the old one becomes available for anyone else to register. If you want to keep that username reserved — perhaps because you plan to change back later, or because you use it elsewhere — you can create a new GitHub account with that username right away. This prevents someone else from taking it.

If someone else claims your old username before you do, you cannot get it back unless they abandon the account. GitHub does not reassign usernames based on who had them first. If your old username is important to your professional identity, consider whether you really need to change it, or whether you should reserve it before you proceed.

Updating links after you change

Search your own website, documentation, and any public profiles for links to your old GitHub URL. Common places to update include your resume or CV, your personal website or portfolio, README files in repositories, documentation sites, LinkedIn profile, Twitter bio, or any other place where you've shared your GitHub link. Use your browser's find function (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) to search for your old username on pages you control.

If you maintain a website or blog, check for hardcoded links to github.com/oldname. If you've shared your GitHub profile in comments, forum posts, or other places you don't control, those links will eventually break, but there's nothing you can do about them. The temporary redirect will help for a while, but updating your own properties is the priority.

What does not change when you update your username

Your email address, password, and account security settings stay the same. Your followers and following list stays the same. Any organizations you belong to keep you as a member. SSH keys and personal access tokens continue to work without any changes on your part. Your GitHub Pages site (if you have one at username.github.io) will need its repository renamed, but the site itself keeps working — GitHub handles the redirect automatically for Pages.

If you use GitHub's command line tools or have cloned repositories to your computer, those local copies will still work. The next time you push or pull, Git will follow the redirect to the new URL. If you want to update your local repositories to point directly to the new URL instead of relying on the redirect, you can do that with the git remote set-url command, but it's not required.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Only if no one else has claimed it in the meantime. If you change from "alice" to "alice-dev" and then want to go back to "alice", you can do that — but only if "alice" is still available. If someone else registered "alice" while you were using "alice-dev", you cannot reclaim it. This is why reserving your old username by creating a new account is a good idea if you think you might change back.

Do I need to update my SSH keys or authentication tokens?

No. Your SSH keys, personal access tokens, and GitHub Apps all continue to work after you change your username. You do not need to regenerate them or update any settings. The only thing that changes is the web address where your profile appears.

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

If your site is at username.github.io, you'll need to rename the repository to newusername.github.io. GitHub will handle the redirect, so the site keeps working during the transition, but update any links to the old address. If your Pages site uses a custom domain, nothing changes at all.

Can I change my username if I have active pull requests or issues?

Yes. Your pull requests, issues, and all activity stay attached to your account. The only thing that changes is the URL. People who have linked to your pull requests will see a redirect, and your name will appear as your new username on all past activity.

How long does the redirect from my old username last?

GitHub does not publish an exact timeframe, but redirects typically work for several months. Do not rely on them permanently. Update any links you control — your resume, website, documentation — before or when ready after changing your username, because the redirect will eventually stop working.