How to organize a group’s work

GitHub organizations

Should I start a repository under my account or open a new organization?

  • Single-person projects often start under own account.

  • It is no problem to move a project from own namespace to an organization later.

  • When starting a larger project with several people, possibly several affiliations, an organization may be a better start.

  • If this is a GitHub pages project, then it will matter for the URL: myuser.github.io/myproject/ vs. ourorg.github.io/ourproject/.

Should I add everybody as collaborator?

  • If you are a handful of project collaborators it probably makes sense to add everybody as collaborators.

  • But one does not have to be a collaborator to contribute (anybody can send contributions to public projects).

  • External contributors don’t have to be added.

Organizational permissions

  • Organizations have owners and members.

  • Owners can add additional members and delete repositories.

  • Members can also be organized into teams.

  • We recommend to write-protect the default branch and protect it against force-pushes and accidental deletions.

GitHub or GitLab?

  • GitHub: probably better integrations (with services like Zenodo), probably more visibility (more users).

  • GitLab: more features, you can also self-host, more advanced continuous integration.

  • Your own university’s GitLab: most control, local support, but limited visibility and you might lose access when you move on.

  • Nordic GitLab: easier collaboration across organizations and national borders, visibility within Nordics.

Direct commits or pull requests?

  • For single-person projects: direct pushes.

  • If you have somebody who can help you with code review: use pull requests.

  • For projects with 2 or more persons: agree on applying all changes via pull requests and create a new branch for every change.

Small vs. large changes

  • Small changes or agreed upon improvements can be worked on directly.

  • For larger changes first open an issue and describe your idea and collect feedback.

  • Alternative: if you already have a larger change half-finished but you are unsure whether you are on the right track, open a draft pull request. These are meant to share unfinished drafts and collect suggestions.