Setting up organizaiton profile read.me

[tgavhane]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

Body

I wanted to setup organization profile readme for my organization in github enterprise. I have tried .github/profile/readme.md and also .github-private/profile/readme.md but no luck. Can someone help ?

[Light0777]

The setup depends on whether you're using GitHub Enterprise Cloud or GitHub Enterprise Server.

For supported versions, the organization profile README should be configured like this:

1. Create a repository named .github under your organization.
2. Add a file at profile/README.md
3. If you want the profile to be publicly visible, make sure the .github repository is public.
4. The README should automatically appear on the organization's profile page.

If you've already done this and it still isn't working, could you clarify:

• Are you using GitHub Enterprise Cloud or GitHub Enterprise Server?
• If it's Enterprise Server, which version are you running?
• Is the .github repository public or private?

Some older GitHub Enterprise Server releases do not support organization profile READMEs, so the server version is an important detail.

[tgavhane]

We are using GitHub Enterprise Cloud. the .github repo is "internal" and I also tried .github-private and it is private.

[Light0777]

Ok, Thanks for the clarification.

On GitHub Enterprise Cloud, organization profile READMEs are supported. One thing to check is the repository visibility.

The standard setup is:

• Repository name: ".github"
• File path: "profile/README.md"

Could you try making the ".github" repository Public (if your organization's policies allow it) and see if the profile README appears? The "profile/README.md" is the documented location, and ".github-private" isn't typically used for organization profile READMEs on Enterprise Cloud.

If it still doesn't work after that, it may be worth checking:

• Whether your Enterprise or organization has any policy restricting public repositories.
• Whether the organization profile is public or limited by visibility settings.

If you're able to share a link to the ".github" repository (or a screenshot of its structure), that would also help narrow down the issue.

[roshankumarch2005]

The most common reason your organization profile README isn't showing up is likely a mismatch in repository visibility or an incorrect folder structure.
The exact path you tried (.github/profile/readme.md) is correct, but GitHub enforces strict rules on the repositories hosting these files. [1, 2, 3]
Fix this issue by checking the following requirements:

1. Match the Repository Visibility Exactly

GitHub will completely ignore the profile folder if the repository visibility does not match the repository type: [1, 3]

• Public Profile (Visible to everyone): Your repository must be named .github and its visibility must be set to Public.
• Private/Member-Only Profile (Visible only to internal staff): Your repository must be named .github-private and its visibility must be set to Private. [1, 4, 5]

Note: If you are using GitHub Enterprise with Enterprise Managed Users (EMUs), public organization profiles are natively disabled by GitHub. In an EMU setup, you must use the private .github-private method. [4, 6, 7]

2. Verify Your File Path & Casing

Linux-based systems (like GitHub's servers) are strictly case-sensitive. If your file is named readme.md or Readme.MD, it may fail to render. [3, 8]

• Change the file name to all-caps: README.md.
• Ensure the profile folder is in lowercase. [3, 5, 9, 10]

Your final repository structure must look exactly like this:

your-organization/
└── .github (or .github-private)
└── profile/
└── README.md

3. Clear Your Cache and Check the View

Once the repo visibility is correct and the file is committed to the main/master branch, head over to your organization's main page (https://github.com). [1]
If you are using the .github-private option, look at the right-hand sidebar on your organization's homepage. You will see a toggle to switch between the Public view and Member view. Make sure you are switched to the Member view to see your internal README. [1, 4]
If it still isn't showing up, let me know:

• Are you using Enterprise Managed Users (EMUs) where logins go through a Single Sign-On (SSO) provider?
• Is your .github repository set to Public or Internal/Private?

[tgavhane]

Yes. We are using Enterprise Managed Users (EMUs) where logins go through a Single Sign-On (SSO) provider. The .github repository visibility is set to internal.

[alistackdev]

If you're using GitHub Enterprise, whether the organization profile README works depends on the type of Enterprise you're using.

The organization profile README should be created in a repository named .github within your organization, with the file located at:

.github/profile/README.md

A few things to check:

• The repository must be named exactly .github.
• The file name should be README.md (uppercase is recommended).
• The repository should belong to the organization, not your personal account.
• Ensure the .github repository is public (for GitHub.com) or has the appropriate visibility for your GitHub Enterprise instance.
• The profile README is displayed only on the organization's main page, not within individual repositories.

The .github-private/profile/README.md path is not used for organization profile READMEs.

If you've confirmed all of the above and it still doesn't appear, could you clarify:

• Are you using GitHub Enterprise Cloud or GitHub Enterprise Server (self-hosted)?
• Which version of GitHub Enterprise are you running (if it's Enterprise Server)?

That information will help determine whether the feature is supported in your environment.

[tgavhane]

@alistackdev We are using Enterprise Managed Users (EMUs) where logins go through a Single Sign-On (SSO) provider. The .github repository visibility is set to internal.

[Yashendra-org]

The setup depends on whether you're using GitHub Enterprise Cloud or GitHub Enterprise Server.

For supported versions, the organization profile README should be configured like this:

Create a repository named .github under your organization.
Add a file at profile/README.md
If you want the profile to be publicly visible, make sure the .github repository is public.
The README should automatically appear on the organization's profile page.
If you've already done this and it still isn't working, could you clarify:

Are you using GitHub Enterprise Cloud or GitHub Enterprise Server?
If it's Enterprise Server, which version are you running?
Is the .github repository public or private?
Some older GitHub Enterprise Server releases do not support organization profile READMEs, so the server version is an important detail.

or

The organization profile README should be created in a repository named .github within your organization, with the file located at:

.github/profile/README.md
A few things to check:

The repository must be named exactly .github.
The file name should be README.md (uppercase is recommended).
The repository should belong to the organization, not your personal account.
Ensure the .github repository is public (for GitHub.com) or has the appropriate visibility for your GitHub Enterprise instance.
The profile README is displayed only on the organization's main page, not within individual repositories.
The .github-private/profile/README.md path is not used for organization profile READMEs.

If you've confirmed all of the above and it still doesn't appear, could you clarify:

Are you using GitHub Enterprise Cloud or GitHub Enterprise Server (self-hosted)?
Which version of GitHub Enterprise are you running (if it's Enterprise Server)?
That information will help determine whether the feature is supported in your environment.

[tgavhane]

@Yashendra-org We are using Enterprise Managed Users (EMUs) where logins go through a Single Sign-On (SSO) provider. The .github repository visibility is set to internal.

[Mohammadshaqboua]

1. Repo naming

Public README → repo must be named exactly .github (not .github-private)
Member-only README → repo must be named exactly .github-private

If you're testing the public one, .github-private/profile/README.md won't work at all — that path is only for the member-only view.
2. File path and casing
It must be profile/README.md (capital README.md) inside the repo root — not docs/profile/, not .github/profile/readme.md (lowercase can matter depending on git config/OS, so match case exactly).
3. Repo visibility

.github repo must be public for the README to show on the public Overview tab.
.github-private needs to exist (public or private, but conventionally private) for the member-only view — but it only shows to logged-in org members, never to the public.

4. Enterprise Managed Users (EMU)
   This is the big one if you're on GitHub Enterprise Cloud with EMU: public organization profiles are not available with Enterprise Managed Users. If your enterprise uses EMU, there's no way to show a public org README — this is a hard platform limitation, not a config issue. GitHub
5. Content requirements
   The README file can't be empty, and if it's identical to auto-generated boilerplate it should still render — but double check you actually committed to the default branch.
   A few questions to narrow this down: