How to Delete a Repository on GitHub

Q: How to Delete a Repository on GitHub

To delete a repository on GitHub, navigate to the repository's Settings page, scroll to the 'Danger Zone' section at the bottom, and click 'Delete this repository'. GitHub requires you to type the full repository name (owner/repo) to confirm the deletion, preventing accidental removal. Once deleted, the repository — including all its commits, issues, pull requests, wikis, releases, and settings — is permanently removed and cannot be recovered through normal means. Before deleting, download any data you want to keep, check whether other services or forks depend on the repository, and notify collaborators. If your goal is to hide the project rather than destroy it, consider making the repository private instead of deleting it.

After working on some coding projects for some time, your GitHub account might be flooded with repositories. Here's a short guide on how to delete a remote repository on GitHub.com.

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Before You Delete

A few things worth checking first:

1. Teamwork: you might not need the repository anymore, but in case you’re working in a team, you should make sure that your teammates also don’t need it anymore!
2. Permissions: only users with "admin" or "owner" permissions can delete a repository. If you don’t see the delete option in Settings, you likely don’t have the required role.
3. Sure? Double-check that you have the right repository. Once deleted, issues, pull requests, wikis, and release attachments are gone — there’s no recycle bin. You have 90 days to request a restore through GitHub support, but that only recovers the repository itself, not the associated data.
4. Forks: Deleting a public repository does not remove any forks that already exist, but deleting a private repository removes all of its forks. If you’re deleting a fork, this has no effect on the original upstream repository.

Deleting a Repository

When you’ve made the decision to delete, open the "Settings" page for the repository. Scroll all the way to the bottom and you’ll find the button "Delete this repository".

Not Sure? Archive It Instead

If you want to stop actively working on a repository without losing it, archiving is a good middle ground. An archived repository becomes read-only — no new commits, issues, or pull requests — but everything stays accessible and searchable.

To archive, go to Settings → General, scroll down to the "Danger Zone" section, and click "Archive this repository". You’ll need to confirm by typing the repository name. Archived repositories can be unarchived later from the same place.

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