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Rename Repository & Make Public

This guide walks you through renaming your GitHub repository to "open-navigator-for-engagement" and making it public.

📋 Pre-Flight Checklist​

Before you begin:

  • Commit and push all local changes
  • Backup your repository (optional but recommended)
  • Ensure you have admin access to the repository
  • Review what will be made public

🔄 Step 1: Rename Repository on GitHub​

  1. Navigate to your repository on GitHub
  2. Click "Settings" tab (top right)
  3. Scroll to "Repository name" section
  4. Change name to: open-navigator-for-engagement
  5. Click "Rename" button

✅ GitHub automatically:

  • Redirects old URL to new URL
  • Updates all clone URLs
  • Preserves issues, PRs, stars, watchers

Option B: Via GitHub CLI​

# Install GitHub CLI if not already installed
# sudo apt install gh  # Linux
# brew install gh      # macOS

# Authenticate
gh auth login

# Rename repository
gh repo rename open-navigator-for-engagement

🌍 Step 2: Make Repository Public​

Option A: Via GitHub Web Interface​

  1. Still in Settings, scroll down to "Danger Zone"
  2. Click "Change visibility"
  3. Select "Make public"
  4. Read the warnings (sensitive data will be publicly visible)
  5. Type repository name to confirm: open-navigator-for-engagement
  6. Click "I understand, change repository visibility"

Option B: Via GitHub CLI​

gh repo edit --visibility public

⚠️ Important: Review Before Making Public​

Things that will become public:

  • ✅ All code and commit history
  • ✅ All issues and pull requests
  • ✅ All releases and tags
  • ✅ Wiki pages
  • ✅ GitHub Actions workflows

Check for sensitive data:

# Search for potential secrets
cd /home/developer/projects/open-navigator

# Check .env files (should be in .gitignore)
git ls-files | grep -E '\.env$'

# Check for API keys in committed files
git grep -i "api[_-]key"
git grep -i "secret"
git grep -i "password"
git grep -i "token"

# Review .gitignore
cat .gitignore

Recommended .gitignore additions:

# Secrets and credentials
.env
.env.local
*.pem
*.key
secrets/

# API tokens
*_token.txt
credentials.json

# Local configuration
config/local.py

🔗 Step 3: Update Local Repository​

After renaming on GitHub:

cd /home/developer/projects/open-navigator

# Check current remote
git remote -v

# Update remote URL (replace USERNAME with your GitHub username/org)
git remote set-url origin https://github.com/getcommunityone/open-navigator-for-engagement.git

# Verify
git remote -v

# Fetch to confirm connection
git fetch

# Output should show:
# origin  https://github.com/getcommunityone/open-navigator-for-engagement.git (fetch)
# origin  https://github.com/getcommunityone/open-navigator-for-engagement.git (push)

📝 Step 4: Update Code References​

Run the provided script to update all repository URLs in your code:

cd /home/developer/projects/open-navigator

# Make script executable
chmod +x update-repo-urls.sh

# Run the update script
./update-repo-urls.sh

# Review changes
git diff

# Commit the changes
git add .
git commit -m "chore: update repository name to open-navigator-for-engagement"
git push

Manual Updates (if needed)​

Key files to check:

  1. README.md - Clone instructions
  2. setup.py - Package metadata URLs
  3. website/docusaurus.config.ts - Documentation links
  4. agents/scraper.py - User-Agent string
  5. package.json (if exists) - Repository field

🎯 Step 5: Update External Services (If Applicable)​

If you're using external services, update them:

  • Databricks Apps: Update app configuration
  • CI/CD Pipelines: Update repository URLs
  • Webhooks: Will automatically redirect
  • Badges: Update markdown badge URLs
  • Documentation links: Already handled by script

✅ Verification Checklist​

After completing all steps:

  • Repository renamed on GitHub
  • Repository is now public
  • Local git remote updated
  • Code references updated
  • Changes committed and pushed
  • Old URL redirects to new URL
  • Clone new repository works: git clone https://github.com/getcommunityone/open-navigator-for-engagement.git
  • Documentation links work
  • No sensitive data exposed

🔍 Test the New Repository​

# Clone from new URL (in a different directory)
cd /tmp
git clone https://github.com/getcommunityone/open-navigator-for-engagement.git
cd open-navigator-for-engagement

# Verify it works
ls -la
cat README.md

# Clean up test
cd ..
rm -rf open-navigator-for-engagement

🎉 Post-Rename Actions​

Update Social & Marketing​

  • Update website links
  • Update social media profiles
  • Update blog posts or articles
  • Update documentation sites
  • Notify collaborators

Add Repository Metadata​

Make your repository discoverable:

  1. Add Topics (on GitHub):

    • civic-tech
    • open-data
    • government-transparency
    • advocacy
    • policy-analysis
    • municipal-data
    • nonprofit-data

  2. Add Description: "AI-powered platform analyzing municipal meetings and budgets across 90,000+ U.S. jurisdictions to identify advocacy opportunities"

  3. Add Website: Link to your deployment or documentation

  4. Enable Discussions (optional): Settings → Features → Discussions

  5. Add License Badge to README (already has MIT badge)

📚 Documentation Updates​

The script automatically updates:

  • All README files
  • Docusaurus configuration
  • Python setup files
  • Documentation pages
  • Issue templates

🔒 Security Considerations​

After making public:

  1. Enable Security Features:

    • Go to Settings → Security
    • Enable Dependabot alerts
    • Enable Dependabot security updates
    • Enable Code scanning (if applicable)

  2. Add SECURITY.md:

    # Security Policy

    ## Reporting a Vulnerability

    Please report security vulnerabilities to: security@communityone.com

  3. Review Branch Protection:

    • Protect main branch
    • Require pull request reviews
    • Require status checks

🆘 Troubleshooting​

Issue: "Repository not found" after rename​

Solution: Update your local remote:

git remote set-url origin https://github.com/getcommunityone/open-navigator-for-engagement.git

Issue: Old repository URL still accessible​

Expected: GitHub automatically redirects old URLs to new ones for convenience.

Issue: Collaborators can't access​

Solution: They need to update their remotes too (same command as above).

Issue: Sensitive data was committed​

Solutions:

  1. Remove from history: Use git filter-repo or BFG Repo-Cleaner
  2. Rotate secrets: Change any exposed API keys, tokens, passwords
  3. Contact GitHub Support: For complete removal assistance

📞 Support​

✨ Success!​

Your repository is now:

  • ✅ Renamed to open-navigator-for-engagement
  • ✅ Publicly accessible
  • ✅ All references updated
  • ✅ Ready for community contributions

New Repository URL: https://github.com/getcommunityone/open-navigator-for-engagement

Welcome to open source! 🎉