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GitHub Organization Policies are rules and settings enforced at the organization level to control how repositories, members, and integrations behave. These policies help you:

• Improve security and compliance
• Standardize development practices
• Automate access controls
• Enforce governance at scale

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📘 Section 1: What are GitHub Organization Policies?

✅ Definition:

Organization policies in GitHub are configurations and rules set by organization owners to govern repositories, teams, members, and applications within that organization.

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🧰 Section 2: What Can You Do With Organization Policies?

Here’s what you can control:

Category	Policy Examples
Member Management	Require 2FA, restrict repo creation, limit external collaborators
Repository Settings	Default branch protection rules, required reviews, commit signing
App/Token Access	Restrict GitHub Apps, OAuth apps, PAT usage
Security	Enforce Dependabot, secret scanning, code scanning
CI/CD	Restrict GitHub Actions to certain runners or workflows
Compliance	Audit logs, webhook permissions, access controls

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🚀 Section 3: Basic Setup Guide

🧩 Step 1: Create a GitHub Organization

1. Go to https://github.com/organizations/new
2. Choose a name, billing plan (Free/Team/Enterprise), and invite members.

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🛠 Step 2: Enable & Enforce 2FA

Use case: Ensure all members have two-factor authentication.

How:

1. Go to your organization > Settings > Security > Authentication security
2. Enable: Require two-factor authentication

🔒 Effect: Users without 2FA will be removed from the org after 1 day.

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🗂 Step 3: Restrict Repository Creation

Use case: Prevent users from creating repos outside approved governance.

How:

• Go to Settings > Member Privileges
• Under Repository Creation, choose:
  • No one
  • Selected members/teams
  • Only admins

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⚙ Step 4: Apply Default Repository Settings

Use case: Standardize settings for every new repo (branch protection, etc.)

How:

• Go to Settings > Repository Defaults
  • Default branch: main
  • Default visibility: private
  • Require branch protection rules

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🔐 Step 5: Configure Branch Protection

Use case: Prevent force-pushes, require reviews, enforce CI

How:

• Navigate to a repo > Settings > Branches > Add Rule
  • Require PR review (1+)
  • Require status checks (CI passing)
  • Require signed commits

For org-wide setup, create a template repo with protection rules.

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🧾 Step 6: Enable Audit Logging (Enterprise)

Use case: Track changes, user actions, security breaches.

How:

• Go to your GitHub Enterprise org > Settings > Audit Log
• Filter by event types, users, or repositories.

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💼 Section 4: Intermediate Policy Use Cases

🎯 1. Restrict GitHub Actions Use

How:

• Go to Settings > Actions > Policies
  • Allow only internal actions
  • Restrict to specific workflows or runner groups
  • Require approval for external workflows

🧠 2. Limit GitHub App Installations

How:

• Go to Settings > Third-party access
  • Allow only approved GitHub Apps
  • Block unknown OAuth apps or PATs

📦 3. Set Organization-wide Secrets

Use case: Provide centralized secrets for all CI/CD.

How:

• Go to Settings > Secrets and variables
  • Add Organization Secrets (e.g., AWS keys, API tokens)

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🧠 Section 5: Advanced Governance (Enterprise Tier)

If you’re using GitHub Enterprise Cloud or Enterprise Managed Users, here are advanced controls:

🔐 Enterprise Policies via GitHub CLI / API

Example: Enforce 2FA using CLI

gh api \
  --method PATCH \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  /orgs/YOUR_ORG \
  -f members_can_create_repositories=false

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🏛️ GitHub Policy Service (beta/enterprise)

GitHub has an internal feature called Policy Service (in private beta) that allows defining JSON/YAML-based policy rules like:

require_codeowners:
  enabled: true
require_pull_request_reviews:
  required_approving_review_count: 2

These policies are applied org-wide for compliance automation.

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💡 Real-World Use Cases

Use Case	Policy/Feature Required
Enforce 2FA for all members	Settings > Security
Prevent unapproved GitHub Actions	Settings > Actions > Workflow Restrictions
Centralized secrets for deployments	Organization > Secrets
Standardize repo setup with templates	Repository Templates + Default Settings
Enforce CI + code review	Branch Protection Rules
Deny external OAuth apps	Third-party Access Settings
Require CODEOWNERS for ownership	Branch Protection + CODEOWNERS file

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📌 Best Practices

• Use Teams to manage access instead of individual users.
• Enforce branch protection on main branches.
• Create a compliance repo documenting all policies.
• Use Audit Logs to monitor suspicious activity.
• Keep GitHub Apps and PATs tightly scoped.
• Review member privileges quarterly.

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📚 Bonus: GitHub CLI for Org Policies

You can script organization policies with GitHub CLI:

# Disable repository creation by members
gh api --method PATCH /orgs/MY_ORG \
  -f members_can_create_repositories=false

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✅ Summary

Capability	Org Policy Feature
Security enforcement	2FA, OAuth App control, token control
Collaboration governance	Team-based access, repo creation limits
Dev workflow enforcement	Branch protection, CODEOWNERS, CI
Automation & Integration	GitHub Apps, Action runner controls
Central secrets management	Org-wide Secrets
Visibility & audit	Audit Logs, Action logs

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