What happens to GitHub accounts when the owner dies

A designated successor can archive the deceased user's public repositories, transfer public repositories to the successor's own user-owned account, or transfer public repositories to an organization where the successor can create repositories. Successors cannot log into the deceased's account and cannot access private repositories. Activation requires presenting a death certificate (7-day waiting period) or an obituary (21-day waiting period) to GitHub Support.

Designated successors cannot access private repositories. The estate must work directly with GitHub Support through the Deceased User Policy. Whether GitHub will grant access is handled case-by-case based on privacy obligations and legal requirements. If the account is ultimately deleted, all private repositories and any forks of them are permanently deleted.

The organization can become effectively orphaned with no one able to administer it. The estate must contact GitHub Support through the Deceased User Policy to request action. GitHub recommends every organization maintain at least two owners at all times to prevent this scenario. Billing continues against the stored payment method until the method fails.

Codespaces automatically delete after 30 days of inactivity by default. Any uncommitted or unpushed work is permanently lost once a Codespace is deleted and cannot be recovered. If a user loses access to a Codespace, GitHub retains it for 7 days before permanent deletion.

GitHub does not publish a policy of automatically deleting personal accounts for inactivity. Accounts persist unless someone requests deletion through the Deceased User Policy or the account holder deletes the account themselves. When an account is deleted, the username becomes available for re-registration 90 days later unless retired under the popular-repo rule.