Enabling secret scanning for your repository

You can configure how GitHub scans your repositories for leaked secrets and generates alerts.

Who can use this feature?

Secret scanning alerts for partners runs automatically on public repositories and public npm packages to notify service providers about leaked secrets on GitHub.

Secret scanning alerts for users are available for user-owned public repositories for free. Organizations using GitHub Enterprise Cloud with a license for GitHub Advanced Security can also enable secret scanning alerts for users on their private and internal repositories. Additionally, secret scanning alerts for users are available and in beta on user-owned repositories for GitHub Enterprise Cloud with Enterprise Managed Users. For more information, see "About secret scanning alerts" and "About GitHub Advanced Security."

For information about how you can try GitHub Advanced Security for free, see "Setting up a trial of GitHub Advanced Security."

In this article

About enabling secret scanning alerts for users

Secret scanning alerts for users can be enabled for any repository that is owned by an organization, and for repositories owned by user accounts when using GitHub Enterprise Cloud with Enterprise Managed Users.

If you're an organization owner, you can enable secret scanning for multiple repositories at the same time using a security configuration. For more information, see "Securing your organization."

If your organization is owned by an enterprise account, an enterprise owner can also enable secret scanning at the enterprise level. For more information, see "Managing GitHub Advanced Security features for your enterprise."

Enabling secret scanning alerts for users

  1. On GitHub, navigate to the main page of the repository.

  2. Under your repository name, click Settings. If you cannot see the "Settings" tab, select the dropdown menu, then click Settings.

    Screenshot of a repository header showing the tabs. The "Settings" tab is highlighted by a dark orange outline.

  3. In the "Security" section of the sidebar, click Code security and analysis.

  4. If Advanced Security is not already enabled for the repository, to the right of "GitHub Advanced Security", click Enable.

  5. Review the impact of enabling Advanced Security, then click Enable GitHub Advanced Security for this repository.

  6. When you enable Advanced Security, secret scanning may automatically be enabled for the repository due to the organization's settings. If "Secret scanning" is shown with an Enable button, you still need to enable secret scanning by clicking Enable. If you see a Disable button, secret scanning is already enabled.

    Screenshot of the "Secret scanning" section of the "Code security and analysis" page, with the "Enable" button highlighted in a dark orange outline.

A repository administrator can choose to disable secret scanning for a repository at any time. For more information, see "Managing security and analysis settings for your repository."

Next steps