Creating a default community health file

You can create default community health files, such as CONTRIBUTING and CODE_OF_CONDUCT. Default files will be used for any repository owned by the account that does not contain its own file of that type.

In this article

About default community health files

Default community health files are a set of predefined files that provide guidance and templates for maintaining a healthy and collaborative open source project. These files help you automate and standardize various aspects of your project's development and community interaction, promoting transparency, good practices, and collaboration.

You can add default community health files to a public repository called .github and GitHub Enterprise Server will use and display default files for any repository owned by the account that does not have its own file of that type in the following order:

  • The .github folder
  • The root of the repository
  • The docs folder

If no corresponding file is found in the current repository, GitHub Enterprise Server will use the default file from the .github repository, following the same order of precedence.

For example, anyone who creates an issue or pull request in a repository that does not have its own CONTRIBUTING.md file will see a link to the default CONTRIBUTING.md from the .github repository. However, if a repository has any files in its own .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE folder, such as issue templates or a _config.yml file, none of the contents of the default .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE folder will be used. This allows repository maintainers to override the default files with specific templates or content on per-repository basis.

Storing the files in .github repository allows making changes to the defaults just in one place. Additionally, they won’t appear in the file browser or Git history of the individual repositories, and are not included in their clones, packages, or downloads.

Supported file types

You can create defaults in your organization or personal account for the following community health files:

Community health fileDescription
CONTRIBUTING.mdA CONTRIBUTING file communicates how people should contribute to your project. For more information, see "Setting guidelines for repository contributors."
Discussion category formsDiscussion category forms customize the templates that are available for community members to use when they open new discussions in your repository. For more information, see "Creating discussion category forms."
GOVERNANCE.mdA GOVERNANCE file lets people know about how your project is governed. For example, it might discuss project roles and how decisions are made.
Issue and pull request templates and config.ymlIssue and pull request templates customize and standardize the information you'd like contributors to include when they open issues and pull requests in your repository. For more information, see "About issue and pull request templates."
SECURITY.mdA SECURITY file gives instructions on how to report a security vulnerability in your project and description that hyperlinks the file. For more information, see "Adding a security policy to your repository."
SUPPORT.mdA SUPPORT file lets people know about ways to get help with your project. For more information, see "Adding support resources to your project."

You cannot create a default license file. License files must be added to individual repositories so the file will be included when a project is cloned, packaged, or downloaded.

Creating a repository for default files

  1. In the upper-right corner of any page, select , then click New repository.

    Screenshot of a GitHub dropdown menu showing options to create new items. The menu item "New repository" is outlined in dark orange.

  2. Use the Owner drop-down menu, and select the organization or personal account you want to create default files for.

    Screenshot of the owner menu for a new GitHub repository. The menu shows two options, octocat and github.

  3. In the "Repository name" field, type .github.

  4. Optionally, in the "Description" field, type a description.

  5. Make sure the repository status is set to Public. A repository for default files cannot be private.

  6. Select Initialize this repository with a README.

  7. Click Create repository.

  8. In the repository, create one of the supported community health files. Issue templates and their configuration file must be in a folder called .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE. All other supported files may be in the root of the repository, the .github folder, or the docs folder. For more information, see "Creating new files."