My repo name was retired, any options?

[randyjonesworld]

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I was trying to clean up my github presence and I may have shot myself in the foot.

I was previously using my company name 'madronalabs' for my only github account. Now I've changed my personal github account to randyjonesworld and started an organization 'madronalabs'. This went fine. But I'm not able to transfer one of my repos 'madronalib' to madronalabs because GitHub has retired the name. I guess this is because it's a bit more popular than the others.

I can prove I'm not trying to do something nefarious. I've had a support ticket in for two weeks though without a reply. I have a paid plan ($4/month, but still.)

I'm raising the topic here in hopes of learning two things:

• Is it normal not to hear from support for two weeks?
• is there any workaround so that I can transfer my repo back to madronalabs/madronalib?

Of course I could rename the repo but I wouldn't do this except as a last resort, it's a name I've been using for years.

thanks for any help!
–Randy Jones

[Talha-Dogan]

Hello!

Unfortunately, when GitHub "retires" a repository name (usually due to high popularity before deletion or specific policy reasons), that namespace is typically blocked permanently to prevent confusing users or security issues (typosquatting).

You will most likely need to choose a slightly different name for your new repository.

I know that's not the answer you were hoping for, but I hope it saves you time trying to debug it!

[randyjonesworld]

Thank you!

[Talha-Dogan]

No worries

[aryannten]

Once a repository name is retired by GitHub, it’s effectively locked and can’t be reused or transferred, even by the original owner. This usually happens for security reasons (to prevent dependency confusion, impersonation, or takeover of popular repo names).

To your specific questions:

Is it normal not to hear from support for two weeks?
Unfortunately, yes—especially for issues involving retired names. Even on paid individual plans, these cases often require manual review and can take weeks.
Is there any workaround to transfer the repo back to madronalabs/madronalib?
No self-service workaround exists. If the name is retired, GitHub blocks transfers, renames, and reuse across users and organizations. Only GitHub staff can override this, and they rarely do unless there’s a strong legal or security justification.

Your practical options are:
Keep the repo under the current owner and use redirects, documentation, and releases to point users to the new location.
Rename the repository (as a last resort) and clearly communicate the change.
Continue waiting on the support ticket, but be aware that even legitimate ownership doesn’t guarantee the name will be unretired.

### In short: once a repo name is retired, it’s usually permanent, and support response times for these cases can be long.

[mayurcodes01]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. That aligns with what we’ve been experiencing so far.

It’s helpful to know that long response times are unfortunately normal for retired repository name cases, and that there’s no self-service path once a name is locked for security reasons. We understand why GitHub is cautious here, even though it’s a bit painful for legitimate projects.

For now, we’ll continue using redirects and clear documentation to guide users to the correct location, and we’ll keep the support ticket open in case there’s any possibility of review on GitHub’s side. We’re not assuming an override is guaranteed, but we appreciate the clarification on what is and isn’t realistically possible.

Thanks again for taking the time to explain this so clearly.

[aryannten]

No Worries, we are here to help each other

[mayurcodes01]

Hi Randy,

Unfortunately, what you’re seeing is consistent with how GitHub handles retired repository names.

To your questions:

Is it normal not to hear from support for two weeks?
Yes, sadly it is. Cases involving retired repository names usually require manual review by GitHub staff, and even users on paid individual plans often wait weeks for a response. These tickets tend to move slowly because they touch on security and namespace protection.

Is there any workaround to transfer the repo back to madronalabs/madronalib?
There isn’t a self-service workaround. Once a repository name is retired, GitHub blocks reuse, transfers, and renames involving that name across users and organizations. Only GitHub staff can override it, and they generally do so only in rare cases with strong legal or security justification. Prior ownership alone typically isn’t enough.

Practically speaking, the usual options are:

Keep the repository under its current owner and clearly document the new canonical location.

Use releases, README notices, and redirects to guide users.

Rename the repository as a last resort and communicate the change clearly.

Continue waiting on the support ticket, understanding that even legitimate cases don’t always result in the name being unretired.

It’s frustrating, especially for long-standing projects, but GitHub has become very strict here to prevent dependency confusion and impersonation issues.

Hope this helps set expectations, and good luck with the support ticket.

[mayurcodes01]

Yeah thanks I appreciate it

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[randyjonesworld]

Thanks all.

[randyjonesworld]

I'll reopen this to say I got a helpful reply from a human today. This is now six weeks after opening the ticket. So, though it is not fast, help exists.

[nickarrow]

I am in the exact same situation. I have a ticket in, and I was just trying to tidy things up when I did the rename. Now I can go back. Did the ticket ever get this resolved positively for you? I'm holding out hope.

[randyjonesworld]

I got a reply in six weeks from a human who was willing to work with me and change the repo name. But I had already worked around the problem by changing my org name.