---
title: Create an individual assignment
intro: You can create an assignment for students in your course to complete individually.
versions:
  free-pro-team: '*'
redirect_from:
  - /education/manage-coursework-with-github-classroom/creating-an-individual-assignment
  - /education/manage-coursework-with-github-classroom/create-an-individual-assignment
---
### About individual assignments

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-individual-definition %}

{% data reusables.classroom.classroom-creates-individual-repositories %}

{% data reusables.classroom.about-assignments %}

For a video demonstration of the creation of an individual assignment, see "[Basics of setting up {% data variables.product.prodname_classroom %}](/education/manage-coursework-with-github-classroom/basics-of-setting-up-github-classroom)."

### Prerequisites

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-classroom-prerequisite %}

### Creating an assignment

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-create-the-assignment %}

### Setting up the basics for an assignment

Name your assignment, decide whether to assign a deadline, and choose the visibility of assignment repositories.

- [Naming an assignment](#naming-an-assignment)
- [Assigning a deadline for an assignment](#assigning-a-deadline-for-an-assignment)
- [Choosing an assignment type](#choosing-an-assignment-type)
- [Choosing a visibility for assignment repositories](#choosing-a-visibility-for-assignment-repositories)

#### Naming an assignment

For an individual assignment, {% data variables.product.prodname_classroom %} names repositories by the repository prefix and the student's {% data variables.product.product_name %} username. By default, the repository prefix is the assignment title. For example, if you name an assignment "assignment-1" and the student's username on {% data variables.product.product_name %} is @octocat, the name of the assignment repository for @octocat will be `assignment-1-octocat`.

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-type-a-title %}

#### Assigning a deadline for an assignment

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-assign-a-deadline %}

#### Choosing an assignment type

Under "Individual or group assignment", select the drop-down menu, and click **Individual assignment**. You can't change the assignment type after you create the assignment. If you'd rather create a group assignment, see "[Create a group assignment](/education/manage-coursework-with-github-classroom/create-a-group-assignment)."

#### Choosing a visibility for assignment repositories

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-choose-visibility %}

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-click-continue-after-basics %}

### Adding starter code and configuring a development environment

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-intro-for-environment %}

- [Choosing a template repository](#choosing-a-template-repository)
- [Choosing an online integrated development environment (IDE)](#choosing-an-online-integrated-development-environment-ide)

#### Choosing a template repository

By default, a new assignment will create an empty repository for each student on the roster for the classroom. {% data reusables.classroom.you-can-choose-a-template-repository %}

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-choose-template-repository %}

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-click-continue-after-starter-code-and-feedback %}

#### Choosing an online integrated development environment (IDE)

{% data reusables.classroom.about-online-ides %} For more information, see "[Integrate {% data variables.product.prodname_classroom %} with an IDE](/education/manage-coursework-with-github-classroom/integrate-github-classroom-with-an-ide)."

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-choose-an-online-ide %}

### Providing feedback for an assignment

Optionally, you can automatically grade assignments and create a space for discussing each submission with the student.

- [Testing assignments automatically](#testing-assignments-automatically)
- [Preventing changes to important files](#preventing-changes-to-important-files)
- [Creating a pull request for feedback](#creating-a-pull-request-for-feedback)

#### Testing assignments automatically

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-using-autograding %}

#### Preventing changes to important files

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-prevent-changes %}

#### Creating a pull request for feedback

{% data reusables.classroom.you-can-create-a-pull-request-for-feedback %}

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-create-review-pull-request %}

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-click-create-assignment-button %}

### Inviting students to an assignment

{% data reusables.classroom.assignments-guide-invite-students-to-assignment %}

You can see whether a student has joined the classroom and accepted or submitted an assignment in the **All students** tab for the assignment. {% data reusables.classroom.assignments-to-prevent-submission %}

<div class="procedural-image-wrapper">
  <img alt="Individual assignment" class="procedural-image-wrapper" src="/assets/images/help/classroom/assignment-individual-hero.png">
</div>

### Next steps

- Once you create the assignment, students can start work on the assignment using Git and {% data variables.product.product_name %}'s features. Students can clone the repository, push commits, manage branches, create and review pull requests, address merge conflicts, and discuss changes with issues. Both you and student can review the commit history for the repository. For more information, see "[Getting started with {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}](/github/getting-started-with-github)," "[Creating, cloning, and archiving repositories](/github/creating-cloning-and-archiving-repositories)," "[Using Git](/github/getting-started-with-github/using-git)," and "[Collaborating with issues and pull requests](/github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests)."

- When a student finishes an assignment, you can review the files in the repository, or you can review the history and visualizations for the repository to better understand the student's work. For more information, see "[Visualizing repository data with graphs](/github/visualizing-repository-data-with-graphs)."

- You can provide feedback for an assignment by commenting on individual commits or lines in a pull request. For more information, see "[Commenting on a pull request](/github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests/commenting-on-a-pull-request)" and "[Opening an issue from code](/github/managing-your-work-on-github/opening-an-issue-from-code)." For more information about creating saved replies to provide feedback for common errors, see "[About saved replies](/github/writing-on-github/about-saved-replies)."

### Further reading

- "[Use {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} in your classroom and research](/education/explore-the-benefits-of-teaching-and-learning-with-github-education/use-github-in-your-classroom-and-research)"
- "[Connect a learning management system to {% data variables.product.prodname_classroom %}](/education/manage-coursework-with-github-classroom/connect-a-learning-management-system-to-github-classroom)"