docs/content/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/about-github-pages.md

---
title: About GitHub Pages
intro: 'You can use {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} to host a website about yourself, your organization, or your project directly from a repository on {% data variables.location.product_location %}.'
redirect_from:
  - /articles/what-are-github-pages
  - /articles/what-is-github-pages
  - /articles/user-organization-and-project-pages
  - /articles/using-a-static-site-generator-other-than-jekyll
  - /articles/mime-types-on-github-pages
  - /articles/should-i-rename-usernamegithubcom-repositories-to-usernamegithubio
  - /articles/about-github-pages
  - /github/working-with-github-pages/about-github-pages
product: '{% data reusables.gated-features.pages %}'
versions:
  fpt: '*'
  ghes: '*'
  ghec: '*'
topics:
  - Pages
---

## About {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %}

{% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} is a static site hosting service that takes HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files straight from a repository on {% data variables.product.product_name %}, optionally runs the files through a build process, and publishes a website. You can see examples of {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites in the [{% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} examples collection](https://github.com/collections/github-pages-examples).

{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}
You can host your site on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}'s `github.io` domain or your own custom domain. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pages/configuring-a-custom-domain-for-your-github-pages-site)."
{% endif %}

{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}
{% data reusables.pages.about-private-publishing %} For more information, see "[Changing the visibility of your {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} site]({% ifversion fpt %}/enterprise-cloud@latest{% endif %}/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/changing-the-visibility-of-your-github-pages-site){% ifversion fpt %}" in the {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_cloud %} documentation.{% else %}."{% endif %}
{% endif %}

To get started, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/creating-a-github-pages-site)."

Organization owners can disable the publication of {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites from the organization's repositories. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/organizations/managing-organization-settings/managing-the-publication-of-github-pages-sites-for-your-organization)."

## Types of {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites

There are three types of {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites: project, user, and organization. Project sites are connected to a specific project hosted on {% data variables.product.product_name %}, such as a JavaScript library or a recipe collection. User and organization sites are connected to a specific account on {% data variables.location.product_location %}.

To publish a user site, you must create a repository owned by your personal account that's named {% ifversion fpt or ghec %}`<username>.github.io`{% else %}`<username>.<hostname>`{% endif %}. To publish an organization site, you must create a repository owned by an organization that's named {% ifversion fpt or ghec %}`<organization>.github.io`{% else %}`<organization>.<hostname>`{% endif %}. {% ifversion fpt or ghec %}Unless you're using a custom domain, user and organization sites are available at `http(s)://<username>.github.io` or `http(s)://<organization>.github.io`.{% endif %}

The source files for a project site are stored in the same repository as their project. {% ifversion fpt or ghec %}Unless you're using a custom domain, project sites are available at `http(s)://<username>.github.io/<repository>` or `http(s)://<organization>.github.io/<repository>`.{% endif %}

{% ifversion ghec %}
If you publish your site privately, the URL for your site will be different. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/changing-the-visibility-of-your-github-pages-site)."
{% endif %}

{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}
For more information about how custom domains affect the URL for your site, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pages/configuring-a-custom-domain-for-your-github-pages-site/about-custom-domains-and-github-pages#using-a-custom-domain-across-multiple-repositories)."
{% endif %}

You can only create one user or organization site for each account on {% data variables.product.product_name %}. Project sites, whether owned by an organization or a personal account, are unlimited.

{% ifversion ghes %}
The URL where your site is available depends on whether subdomain isolation is enabled for {% data variables.location.product_location %}.

| Type of site | Subdomain isolation enabled | Subdomain isolation disabled |
| ------------ | --------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
User | `http(s)://pages.<hostname>/<username>` | `http(s)://<hostname>/pages/<username>` |
Organization | `http(s)://pages.<hostname>/<organization>` | `http(s)://<hostname>/pages/<organization>` |
Project site owned by personal account | `http(s)://pages.<hostname>/<username>/<repository>/` | `http(s)://<hostname>/pages/<username>/<repository>/`
Project site owned by organization account | `http(s)://pages.<hostname>/<orgname>/<repository>/` | `http(s)://<hostname>/pages/<orgname>/<repository>/`

For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/admin/configuration/configuring-network-settings/enabling-subdomain-isolation)" or contact your site administrator.
{% endif %}

## Publishing sources for {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites

{% data reusables.pages.private_pages_are_public_warning %}

{% data reusables.pages.pages-about-publishing-source %}

For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/configuring-a-publishing-source-for-your-github-pages-site)."

{% ifversion ghec %}

## Limitations for {% data variables.product.prodname_emus %}

If you're a {% data variables.enterprise.prodname_managed_user %}, your use of {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} is limited.

* {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites can only be published from repositories owned by organizations.
* {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites are always privately published, and you cannot change this visibility. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/changing-the-visibility-of-your-github-pages-site)."
* You cannot create an organization site (a site published from a repository named `<organization>.github.io`)

For more information about {% data variables.product.prodname_emus %}, see "[AUTOTITLE](/admin/identity-and-access-management/using-enterprise-managed-users-for-iam/about-enterprise-managed-users)."
{% endif %}

## Static site generators

{% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} publishes any static files that you push to your repository. You can create your own static files or use a static site generator to build your site for you. You can also customize your own build process locally or on another server.

If you use a custom build process or a static site generator other than Jekyll, you can write a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} to build and publish your site. {% data variables.product.product_name %} provides starter workflows for several static site generators. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/configuring-a-publishing-source-for-your-github-pages-site)."

If you publish your site from a source branch, {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} will use Jekyll to build your site by default. If you want to use a static site generator other than Jekyll, we recommend that you write a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} to build and publish your site instead. Otherwise, disable the Jekyll build process by creating an empty file called `.nojekyll` in the root of your publishing source, then follow your static site generator's instructions to build your site locally.

{% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} does not support server-side languages such as PHP, Ruby, or Python.

## Limits on use of {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %}

{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}
{% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites created after June 15, 2016, and using `github.io` domains are served over HTTPS. If you created your site before June 15, 2016, you can enable HTTPS support for traffic to your site. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/securing-your-github-pages-site-with-https)."

### Prohibited uses

{% endif %}
{% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} is not intended for or allowed to be used as a free web-hosting service to run your online business, e-commerce site, or any other website that is primarily directed at either facilitating commercial transactions or providing commercial software as a service (SaaS). {% data reusables.pages.no_sensitive_data_pages %}

In addition, your use of {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} is subject to the [GitHub Terms of Service](/free-pro-team@latest/site-policy/github-terms/github-terms-of-service), including the restrictions on get-rich-quick schemes, sexually obscene content, and violent or threatening content or activity.

### Educational exercises

Using {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} to create a copy of an existing website as a learning exercise is not prohibited. However, in addition to complying with the [GitHub Terms of Service](/free-pro-team@latest/site-policy/github-terms/github-terms-of-service), you must write the code yourself, the site must not collect any user data, and you must include a prominent disclaimer on the site indicating that the project is not associated with the original and was only created for educational purposes.

### Usage limits

{% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites are subject to the following usage limits:

* {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} source repositories have a recommended limit of 1 GB.{% ifversion fpt or ghec %} For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/repositories/working-with-files/managing-large-files/about-large-files-on-github#file-and-repository-size-limitations)"{% endif %}
* Published {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites may be no larger than 1 GB.
* {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} deployments will timeout if they take longer than 10 minutes.
{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}
* {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites have a _soft_ bandwidth limit of 100 GB per month.
* {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites have a _soft_ limit of 10 builds per hour. This limit does not apply if you build and publish your site with a custom {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow.
* In order to provide consistent quality of service for all {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} sites, rate limits may apply. These rate limits are not intended to interfere with legitimate uses of {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %}. If your request triggers rate limiting, you will receive an appropriate response with an HTTP status code of `429`, along with an informative HTML body.

If your site exceeds these usage quotas, we may not be able to serve your site, or you may receive a polite email from {% data variables.contact.github_support %} suggesting strategies for reducing your site's impact on our servers, including putting a third-party content distribution network (CDN) in front of your site, making use of other {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} features such as releases, or moving to a different hosting service that might better fit your needs.

{% endif %}

## MIME types on {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %}

A MIME type is a header that a server sends to a browser, providing information about the nature and format of the files the browser requested. {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} supports more than 750 MIME types across thousands of file extensions. The list of supported MIME types is generated from the [mime-db project](https://github.com/jshttp/mime-db).

While you can't specify custom MIME types on a per-file or per-repository basis, you can add or modify MIME types for use on {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %}. For more information, see [the mime-db contributing guidelines](https://github.com/jshttp/mime-db#adding-custom-media-types).

{% ifversion fpt %}

## Data collection

When a {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} site is visited, the visitor's IP address is logged and stored for security purposes, regardless of whether the visitor has signed into {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} or not. For more information about {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}'s security practices, see [{% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} Privacy Statement](/site-policy/privacy-policies/github-privacy-statement).
{% endif %}

## Further reading

* [{% data variables.product.prodname_pages %}](https://github.com/skills/github-pages) on {% data variables.product.prodname_learning %}
* "[AUTOTITLE](/rest/repos#pages)"