If you already have an organization account, you can skip this section. You should make sure that you are signed in to GitHub and then navigate to https://github.com/organizations/plan.
Take your time to read through the different options and prices for different types of organization accounts. For the purposes of this guide, we will just stick to a free organization account. Now select your organization name which should match the name of the legal entity it represents if possible.
Ownership of the organization is important to note here. Does this organization belong to you personally or to a company or entity other than yourself? Select the proper ownership here. Also, consider creating a shared inbox for your open source group (ie. [email protected]) so that if the person who’s email you enter gets promoted, the organization is able to retain access.
Navigate to https://github.com/<ORG_NAME>. Here is an example of what a profile page starts out looking like.
One goal of the open source programs office is to get their profile completed so that people can tell that this is an active and trustworthy organization. See the difference between a new profile and a completed one below.
While you are logged in, navigate to https://github.com/organizations/<ORG_NAME>/settings/profile. This is where you can begin to complete the profile details.
For your profile details, make sure they professionally and accurately reflect the business that owns the account. We recommend using a company logo or monogram as the profile picture as well.
It is important to verify your organization as it provides a means of trust (authenticity) that your organization is who it says it is. To do this navigate to https://github.com/organizations/<ORG_NAME>/settings/domains and verify your organization.
Creating an organization README is an important step in completing your organization's profile. This is your chance to introduce your organization and show who you are beyond a name and logo.
Create a public repository called .github. Once created, add a /profile/README.md file. The README will appear on your organization's profile, visible to anyone. You can check out the documentation at https://docs.github.com/en/organizations/collaborating-with-groups-in-organizations/customizing-your-organizations-profile .
Pinned repositories are a way to highlight up to 6 repositories from your organization. Perhaps these are your top Open Source projects or repositories that you would like to gain more traction. Either way, these repositories will stand out at the top of your organization's page as a featured set. This contributes to the impression that your organization has a complete profile and active work going on.
Does your organization have a team that manages public relations and branding? If so, it's a good idea to work with them to ensure that the organization’s profile that you are creating on GitHub is approved or co-authored by these groups.
Now that you have an organization on GitHub, consider what steps members of your organization should take in order to have a repo appear publicly on the organization's page. Check out the resources over at the TODO group for starting an open source project and opensource.guide as well.
Open source projects often lead to communities being built around the code. Maintaining open source projects and their communities takes work and should be planned for. We’ve got an entire guide dedicated to building community.