Skip to content

github.com FAQ

What is the difference between Github Enterprise Cloud (github.com) and Github Enterprise Server (github.umn.edu)?#

Github Enterprise Server is hosted on prem and managed by the SRE team. Github Enterprise Cloud is hosted on github.com as an "Enterprise", which allows for an SSO barrier around Orgs and Repos in the Enterprise on github.com itself. DevEx manages Github Enterprise Cloud.

When is github.umn.edu getting archived and shut off?#

  • November 3, 2026: All repositories must be migrated to GitHub Enterprise Cloud (GHEC)
  • November 4, 2026: github.umn.edu will be placed into archive mode (read-only); you will still be able to view all artifacts, but you won't be able to make any changes
  • May 5, 2027: github.umn.edu will be fully decommissioned, and you will no longer have any access to the server

Should I migrate content to the UMN Enterprise on github.com, or somewhere else?#

  • Students and faculty are eligible to use various github.com features for free using GitHub Education
  • IT Staff are welcome to onboard with their team to GitHub Enterprise Cloud
    • Other staff can onboard if they have a CESI/ITAC unit affiliation or are working with a group that has one
  • Researchers can work with their department's IT unit to use the UMN Enterprise on github.com
    • Members of the UMN Enterprise on github.com must use an associated CESI/ITAC unit; See the User Management page for more information
    • Content in the UMN Enterprise belongs to the UMN Enterprise and private and internal repositories cannot be forked outside of the organization by default, but organization owners can elect to enable forking private and internal repositories to other organizations within the Enterprise; See also the Code Privacy

What's the difference between the UMN Enterprise on github.com, and anywhere else on github.com?#

The "UMN Enterprise" is simply a collection of organizations (and their repositories) that are gated behind UMN Single-Sign On (via Azure Entra ID). If a user loses their affiliation with the UMN group, they will lose access to the private repositories owned by the organization they were a member of. If they are still a member of a separate organization, or added to a repository as an "outside collaborator", they will retain access to the respective repositories. Full members and owners of organizations in the UMN Enterprise must have their University account tied to their github.com account. See also: the User Management and Repositories pages.

Why do I need a github.com account? What about SSO?#

A github.com user account is required to interact with and commit code to github.com. Your user account on github.com will be linked to the UMN SSO in order to access the Enterprise. This will result in two logins, one for your github.com user and one for interacting with UMN Enterprise orgs and repositories. This will also mean two separate 2 factor authentication setups, One for github.com and another for UMN's Duo. See User Management for more information on accounts.

What features are available through the UMN Enterprise on github.com?#

  • Github Copilot: not generally available
  • GitHub Packages: available with a 50GB limit across the entire Enterprise
  • GitHub Actions: available for free up to 50,000 actions minutes per month across the entire Enterprise, with the exception of using a larger Actions Runner, which will always incur a usage cost; See also the Action Runners page.

Does the UMN Enterprise on github.com cost money?#

Onboarding and using the UMN Enterprise on github.com does not cost money, but features like Copilot can incur cost. DevEx will work with you to connect an Azure Cloud Subscription for tying University budget strings to organizations.

Can I put protected data in the UMN Enterprise on github.com?#

Use your best discretion with protected data. The UMN Enterprise License Agreement with GitHub states that data will not be used to train Copilot unless using models that are in Preview.

Is there an integration with Canvas, or other University systems?#

There are no Enterprise-level integrations. Organization owners can set up integrations with systems like Canvas; work with your Organization owners to set this up.

Can I use department or functional accounts on github.com?#

Your github.com account will need to be able to clear the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA/2FA) step to sign in. There are no process restrictions on adding these accounts, but you may be better served setting up a GitHub App

How do I add someone to my Org?#

Org owners fill out the Modify an Existing Team form to open a ticket.

How private is code in a private repository?#

GitHub has answered this question in their privacy statement.

The short of it is that they do not access private code except when they have to, or if you have a service turned on that will scan private code (e.g. secrets scanning in the advanced security features). You will be the one to enable such features or if we make any changes across the Enterprise, it will be with notification or collaboration with you because such features are on a per-repo or per-org basis.

As far as whether copilot is trained on content from private repos, GitHub Docs has a comment about use of private code in Copilot Individual, but the comment is not replicated in the Enterprise docs, so it's somewhat inconclusive.

We do not ever recommend allowing user data in code at all since we can only tell you what we are told by GitHub and with AI becoming a lot more ubiquitous, information control is difficult. That said, we know sometimes it cannot be avoided so this is left to your discretion.