| title | intro | redirect_from | versions | topics | shortTitle | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Making a GitHub App public or private |
When registering a {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %}, you can make it public so that other GitHub users or organizations can install the app, or private so that you can only install it on the account that owns the app. |
|
|
|
Visibility |
A {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} can be {% ifversion fpt %}public or private{% elsif enterprise-apps-public-beta %}public, private, or internal{% endif %}.{% ifversion fpt or ghec %} If you set your {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} registration to public, any user on {% data variables.product.github %} can install it. If you set your {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} registration to private, it can only be installed on the account that owns the app.
{% elsif ghes %} If you set your {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} registration to public, anyone on your {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_server %} instance can install it, but the app is not available outside of your instance. If you set your {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} registration to private, it can only be installed on the account that owns the app.{% endif %}
{% ifversion enterprise-apps-public-beta %} {% data variables.product.prodname_github_apps %} owned by an enterprise account{% ifversion ghec %}, or by a {% data variables.enterprise.prodname_managed_user %} in an enterprise,{% endif %} have "internal" visibility. Internal apps can only be installed by organizations within the enterprise and authorized by users within the enterprise. Members of the enterprise and unaffiliated users can authorize these apps, but outside collaborators cannot. {% endif %}
If you want your {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} to be available to organizations in a {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_server %} instance that you are not part of, then you need to take additional steps. For more information, see AUTOTITLE.
If it is important for {% ifversion ghes %}other {% endif %}{% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_server %} users to be able to use your tool, consider using {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} instead of a {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %}. Public actions are available on {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_server %} instances with GitHub Connect. For more information, see [AUTOTITLE]({% ifversion not ghes %}/enterprise-server@latest{% endif %}/admin/github-actions/managing-access-to-actions-from-githubcom/enabling-automatic-access-to-githubcom-actions-using-github-connect) and [AUTOTITLE]({% ifversion not ghes %}/enterprise-server@latest{% endif %}/admin/github-actions/getting-started-with-github-actions-for-your-enterprise/about-github-actions-for-enterprises){% ifversion ghes %}.{% else %} in the {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_server %} documentation.{% endif %}
For information about changing the visibility of a {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} registration, see AUTOTITLE.
Public {% data variables.product.prodname_github_apps %} have a landing page with an Install button, so that other people can install the app in their repositories. {% ifversion fpt or ghec %}If your {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} is public to all users on {% data variables.product.github %}, you can also choose to publish it to {% data variables.product.prodname_marketplace %}. For more information, see AUTOTITLE.{% endif %}
Private {% data variables.product.prodname_github_apps %} can only be installed on the user or organization account of the app owner. Limited information about the app will exist on a landing page for the app, but the Install button will only be available to organization owners and app managers for the organization that owns the app, or the personal account if the {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} is owned by an individual account.
{% ifversion enterprise-apps-public-beta %}
Enterprise-owned {% data variables.product.prodname_github_apps %}{% ifversion ghec %} and apps owned by {% data variables.enterprise.prodname_managed_users %}{% endif %} can only be installed by organization owners of organizations within the enterprise by using the installation URL. The app can not be installed on user accounts.
{% endif %}