How to Delete a GitHub Repository

GitHub is a Git Repository hosting website that provides free hosting services. It is owned by the tech giant Microsoft. There are other free Git hosting websites like Atlassian's Bitbucket and GitLab but GitHub is the most popular one out there. It allows to create new repositories and delete old repositories. Let's learn how to delete a repository on GitHub.

Deleting a GitHub Repo

Before deleting any remote repository, we need to make sure that the repository is no longer needed. Since multiple developers can work and collaborate on the same repository so we need to make sure that no one in the team needs the repository anymore. Also, make sure that you have the proper admin permissions needed to delete the repository. In some cases, the deleted repositories can be restored but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Another thing to note is that if the repository was private then deleting it will also delete all its Forks. However, this will not be the case if the repository was public.

Follow the below steps to delete a remote repository from GitHub.

• Log in to your GitHub account and open the repository that you want to delete
• Click on the Settings tab of your repository.

• Scroll down to the Danger Zone and click on the "Delete this repository" button.

• You will be shown a warning message and you will be asked to enter your username and the repository name to confirm that you want to delete this repository.

• After clicking the "I understand the consequences, delete this repository" button the repository will be permanently deleted. You may be asked to enter your GitHub account password.

Summary

GitHub is a great place to host our Git Repositories but over time there may be some repositories that are no longer needed. Deleting such repositories is very easy but one has to be sure that the repository will no longer be needed by any of the other collaborators. I hope this tutorial was helpful and you were able to delete your GitHub repository.