OGG… How can I modify the GitHub repository name?

git remote
Author

Ryo Nakagami

Published

2024-12-04

Modified

2025-09-16

Problem

Suppose you are working on a GitHub-hosted repository myproject. As your project evolves, you start wondering the original name is ambiguous or unclear to potential users or collaborators.

So, you’ve decided to rename myproject to assembled-kalmanfilter-coremodel.

▶  Current Status

  • current repository url: https://github.com/OhGoshGit/myproject.git
  • remote name: origin
% git remote -v
origin  https://github.com/OhGoshGit/myproject.git (fetch)
origin  https://github.com/OhGoshGit/myproject.git (push)

▶  ToBe

% git remote -v
origin  https://github.com/OhGoshGit/assembled-kalmanfilter-coremodel.git (fetch)
origin  https://github.com/OhGoshGit/assembled-kalmanfilter-coremodel.git (push)

Solutions

When you rename a repository, all existing information, with the exception of project site URLs, is automatically redirected to the new name, including:

  • Issues
  • Wikis
  • Stars
  • Followers

However, it’s still a good idea to update any references.

Warning !

If you create a new repository under your account in the future, do not reuse the original name of the renamed repository. If you do, redirects to the renamed repository will no longer work.

▶  Steps

  1. Log in to GitHub and navigate to the Repository

    • Go to GitHub and log in to your account.
    • Go to the repository you want to rename.

  2. Access Repository Settings:

    • On the repository’s main page, click the Settings tab

  3. Edit the Repository Name:

    • In the General section, you’ll see the Repository name field.
    • Enter the new name for your repository in the text box.

  4. Confirm the Change:

    • Click Rename

  5. Update Your Local Repository:

    • change an existing remote repository URL in your local repository by running git remote set-url command
    # When you use HTTPS
git remote set-url origin https://github.com/your-username/new-repository-name.git

# When you use SSH
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:your-username/new-repository-name.git

  6. Confirmation

    • Test pushing or pulling to ensure the updated remote URL works correctly:
    git remote -v
git pull origin main

  7. notify your collaborators

    • If others are using the repository, notify them about the name change.

git remote set-url command

The git remote set-url command is used to update the URL of a remote repository in your local Git configuration. This is often necessary when the remote repository’s URL changes (e.g., due to renaming, migration, or switching protocols).

▶  Syntax

git remote set-url <remote-name> <new-url>
  • <remote-name>: The name of the remote (commonly origin)
  • <new-url>: The new URL for the remote repository

The git remote set-url command only updates the URL; it does not create a new remote. If the remote name (e.g., origin) doesn’t exist, you’ll need to add it using git remote add first.

▶  Tips

If you’ve accidentally made a wrong <remote-name>, you can remove by the following command:

git remote rm <wrong-remote-name>

References