Tell HN: GitHub will delete your private repo if you lose access to the original

Article summary

A user's private GitHub repository was deleted after they lost access to the original repository they had forked from. The original repository was an MIT-licensed open source project, but it was hosted in a private repository. The user had a legal fork of the project, but it was deleted due to GitHub's policies. This resulted in data loss for the user, who no longer had a local copy of the repository.

Main themes

• GitHub policies
• Repository ownership
• Data loss
• Forking and collaboration
• Private repositories
• User expectations

What commenters say

• GitHub's policy of deleting private forks when access to the original repository is lost is unexpected and can cause data loss.
• The policy is reasonable because it reflects the ownership and control of the original repository.
• Users should be aware of and understand GitHub's documentation and policies before forking repositories.
• A better approach would be to sever the fork relationship instead of deleting the fork entirely.
• The policy may be intended to protect private company data, but it can have unintended consequences for users.
• Users can avoid this issue by cloning and pushing repositories manually instead of using the fork feature.
• GitHub's fork feature is primarily intended for collaborating on and contributing to the original repository, not for creating independent projects.