Smithsonian GitHub Organization

Smithsonian Institution has an Enterprise Cloud plan with a single GitHub Organization at https://github.com/Smithsonian/.

As such, we have access to all of the features of GitHub. We can make unlimited private and internal repositories, and we can fine-tune repository access controls.

In the future, Smithsonian plans to add multiple Organizations under the Enterprise – for example, breaking CfA out into its own Org – but as of now, we’re all using the Smithsonian Organization.

Join

To join the Smithsonian GitHub Organization, please:

1. Make a GitHub account if you don’t already have one. We recommend using your @cfa.harvard.edu email address.

2. As of April 15, 2025, please submit an IT ServiceNow ticket.

   • Select “Github” as the service.

   • Include your name, email address, and GitHub username in the description.

   • If you are not SI, find an SI friend to submit the request on your behalf.

Teams

GitHub allows members of Organizations to form Teams. We have some Teams already in place, and you can always make your own:

• All CfA: https://github.com/orgs/Smithsonian/teams/center-for-astrophysics

• GMT: https://github.com/orgs/Smithsonian/teams/gmt-projects

• ngEHT: https://github.com/orgs/Smithsonian/teams/ngeht

Teams can be nested under other Teams. People can be members of a sub-team without being members of the parent team. Teams can be public (to members of the Org) or secret.

Collaborators

External collaborators will have to be added to each repository manually, as they cannot join the Smithsonian Org.