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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. |
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Visibility |
You can make your {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} registration public or private. {% ifversion fpt %}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.
{% elsif ghec %}If a {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} is created by an {% data variables.product.prodname_emu %}, the "Public" option is disabled and the app is only installable by organizations within the {% data variables.product.prodname_emu %} enterprise. {% data variables.product.prodname_emu %} organizations can set their apps to be installable by any other organization in the enterprise, or just the organization that owns it. Apps created within an {% data variables.product.prodname_emu %} account are never installable on accounts outside of your enterprise.
If a {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} registration is owned by an account that is not an {% data variables.product.prodname_emu %}, and the app is set to public, any user on {% data variables.product.github %} can install the app. 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 fpt or ghec %}You can register a {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} under your personal account or organization and make it available for other organizations to install. You do not need an enterprise plan or an organization account to make your {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} available to an organization even if the organization is owned by an enterprise on {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_cloud %}.{% endif %}
{% ifversion enterprise-apps-public-beta %} Additionally, you can register a {% data variables.product.prodname_github_app %} under your enterprise. You can't make this app public, the app can only be installed on organizations within your enterprise, and can only be authorized by members of your enterprise. {% 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 %} 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 %}