How to archive a GitHub project?

 

Step 1: Sign in to GitHub

 

Follow these actions to access your account:

• Open your preferred web browser.
• Navigate to https://github.com.
• Enter your username or email address and your password.
• Click the “Sign in” button.

 

Step 2: Navigate to the repository you want to archive

 

Locate the repository in one of these ways:

• From your GitHub homepage, click “Your repositories” in the sidebar and select the repo.
• Use the search bar at the top of GitHub by typing the repository name and selecting it from the results.

 

Step 3: Open the repository settings

 

Access the settings panel:

• On the repository’s main page, click the “Settings” tab in the top navigation bar.

 

Step 4: Scroll to the Danger Zone

 

Find the archive option:

• In the Settings page, scroll down to the bottom until you reach the “Danger Zone” section.

 

Step 5: Archive the repository

 

Initiate the archive process:

• Within the “Danger Zone,” locate the “Archive this repository” button.
• Click on “Archive this repository.”

 

Step 6: Confirm archiving

 

Complete the action:

• In the confirmation dialog, read the details carefully. Archiving makes the repository read-only.
• Type the repository name exactly as shown to confirm.
• Click “I understand the consequences, archive this repository.”

 

Step 7: Verify the repository is archived

 

Check the archive status:

• After confirming, you will be redirected to the repository page.
• You should see a banner at the top indicating “This repository has been archived by the owner. It is now read-only.”

 

Step 8: (Optional) Unarchive the repository

 

If you need to restore write access:

• On the archived repository page, click “Unarchive this repository” in the banner.
• Confirm by typing the repository name and clicking the confirmation button.

 

Step 9: (Optional) Archive via GitHub CLI

 

Use the GitHub CLI to archive a repository from your terminal:

gh repo archive OWNER/REPO --confirm

• Replace OWNER with your GitHub username or organization name.
• Replace REPO with the repository name.
• The --confirm flag skips the interactive confirmation prompt.

 

Additional Notes

 

• Archived repositories are read-only: Issues, pull requests and code changes are disabled.
• You can always unarchive a repository using the UI or the CLI command:

gh repo unarchive OWNER/REPO --confirm

• Archiving is reversible, so you won’t lose any data.
• Only users with admin permissions on the repository can archive or unarchive.

 

That's it! You’ve successfully archived your GitHub repository.