Access to renamed Github repository

[shaikon]

Hello.

I recently renamed my private repository on GitHub.
After doing so, I was able to clone it using the new URL. However, I also noticed that I still was able to clone it using the old URL.

Why this happens?
How can I make Github "forget" the old URL ?

[airtower-luna]

That is intentional, as described in the documentation on Renaming a repository:

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

In addition to redirecting web traffic, all git clone, git fetch, or git push operations targeting the previous location will continue to function as if made on the new location.

The way to get rid of the redirects is also described, though phrased as a warning:

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.

So, what I'd do: Create a new repository with the old name, verify the redirect is gone, and then delete the new repository. 😉

[shaikon]

Thanks for your input!
I think you're referring to this ?
https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/creating-and-managing-repositories/renaming-a-repository
Before posting I've read this but wasn't sure...I thought there must be a more straightforward way to stop the redirect.

But even after trying it I can say it doesn't work!
After renaming the original repo I created a new one which uses the old name before renaming.
At this point cloning the new repo with the old URL got me an empty repo (which is good)
HOWEVER, after deleting this new empty repo on Github I was able to clone it again and get the content of the renamed repo.

So the redirect stopped working for the time of the existence of the repo with the old name - but came back from the dead when I deleted it from Github

[airtower-luna]

That redirect is more persistent than I thought! 😅 In that case I'm afraid your only option is to contact GitHub support and see if they can help you. Though I'm not sure why the redirect is a problem with a private repository.

[shaikon]

Just for cleanness and my understanding of how things work (or don't in this case 😉)

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