claude-mods/skills/github-ops/references/repo-visibility.md

Repo Visibility Default

When publishing a new repo to GitHub, default to private. Public is opt-in only.

Why

User-stated preference (codified 2026-04-26): wants control over what's published openly. Private-by-default prevents accidental public exposure of work-in-progress, unfinished projects, or material that needs review before going public.

Application rules

• gh repo create → always pass --private unless the user has explicitly said "public" / "make it public" / "publish openly" for this specific repo.
• Existing private → public flips also require explicit approval. Use: bash gh repo edit <org>/<repo> --visibility public --accept-visibility-change-consequences
• "Push to GitHub" / "publish this" / "ship it" alone = private.
• Even if a repo is going to the 0xDarkMatter org and other repos there are public, do not infer this one should be public.
• When proposing the publish plan, surface the visibility decision as a flippable line the user can read and react to:

Creating as private at github.com/0xDarkMatter/ — say 'public' to flip.

Not buried in a flag soup.

Per-repo override

If a user says "make this one public" for a specific repo, treat that as authorization for that single repo. It does not change the default for future repos. Always ask again on the next new repo.

What private mode loses

For visibility, list these in the publish plan so the user can make an informed call:

• No public README rendering on github.com (still works for the repo owner)
• No public clone/star/fork
• GitHub Actions still works but minutes count against private quota
• Releases are private
• Issues/PRs are private

If any of these matter for the project's purpose (e.g. a skill plugin that needs public install URLs, a portfolio piece), the user will likely flip to public — but that's their call to surface.