Git & GitHub Course
Git & GitHub
/
Beginner

Collaborators

Definition

Specific GitHub users who have been explicitly invited to have write access to a personal repository.

Explain Like I'm New

If you are working on a school project with a friend on your personal GitHub account, you can't use an 'Organization'. Instead, you go to your repo settings, type in your friend's username, and invite them as a 'Collaborator'. Now they can push code directly to your repository.

Real World Example

Inviting your hackathon teammates as collaborators so you can all push code to the same repository over the weekend.

Common Use Cases

  • •Small team projects
  • •Hackathons
  • •Academic projects

Terminal Output

bash / terminal
/* How to add a Collaborator: 1. Go to your Repository on GitHub. 2. Click 'Settings' (the gear icon). 3. Click 'Collaborators' on the left menu. 4. Click 'Add people'. 5. Search for their GitHub username and click Add. IMPORTANT: They will receive an email. They MUST click the link in the email to accept the invitation before they can push code! */

Interview Questions

basic

  • Does your friend need a GitHub account to be added as a collaborator?

intermediate

  • If a repository is Public, do you still need to add people as collaborators for them to help?

Flash Cards

Question

Need an account?

Click to reveal answer
Answer

Yes. You must invite them using their specific GitHub username or the email address attached to their GitHub account.

Question

Public repo?

Click to reveal answer
Answer

If you want them to be able to push code DIRECTLY, yes. If they are not a collaborator on a public repo, they must use the Fork and Pull Request workflow.