How to Get an Inactive User’s GitHub Username

There is a GitHub username you want, but it’s taken by someone who hasn’t been active for years!! What can you do? Whether you run a personal brand and want all your online handles to be consistent, or you just don’t like having a dash between your first and last names, we all know how frustrating it can be when the awesome username we want is taken. On top of that, if the user is not even active, then the waste of the perfect username only adds insult to injury.

Name Squatting Policy

For some websites and services there just isn’t much you can do when the username you want is taken by an inactive user. Luckily, that is not the case for GitHub, which has a name squatting policy that does not allow users to claim a username and not use it. While the docs does not specify how long a user needs to be inactive for a request to release their username to be accepted, the threshold is probably in the order of magnitude of years.

If you see that the user squatting on the username you want hasn’t been active for years, here’s what you can do to have a shot at getting that username for yourself.

Getting the Username You Want

First, sign into GitHub and go to the profile page of the user who is squatting on the username you want, and click the Block or report user button in the overflow menu.

Then, click the Report abuse button in the popup dialog.

On the report abuse page, type in a message to explain that the user in question is no longer active and that you would like for the username to be release so you can use it. Here is what I wrote:

After clicking the Send request button, your abuse report will be sent to GitHub Support, and they will get back to you via email. The amount of time it takes might differ from case to case, but it should be pretty quick. I got a reply for my request on the next day:

Hi Bill,

Thanks for reaching out! I’ve just had a look, and you’re in luck — it looks like billfeng is available for release under our name-squatting policy. I've released the name for you, but I'd recommend grabbing it quickly, as it's now publicly available. We have some information here on how to change your username:

https://help.github.com/en/articles/changing-your-github-username

If you needed anything else, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Have a great day!

With this, you can now simply go to Settings > Account > Change username and claim the newly released username.

So there you have it — now you can find me at github.com/billfeng! Hope this will help you get the GitHub username of your dreams.

Things to Watch Out For

If the above approach does did not work for you, there are 2 things I’d like to remind you of. (These are also written in the GitHub Username Policy.)

1. Keep in mind that not all activity on GitHub is publicly visible; accounts with no visible activity may be in active use.
2. Attempts to sell, buy, or solicit other forms of payment in exchange for account names are prohibited and may result in permanent account suspension.

If GitHub Support won’t release the username of a seemingly inactive account for you, wait a bit longer and try again. Perhaps the account just hasn’t been inactive for long enough. However, do not try any of the prohibited methods or your account might get permanently suspended.