Requesting a trial of GitHub Enterprise

In this article

• About trials of GitHub Enterprise
• Requesting a trial
• Starting your trial
• Finishing your trial

About trials of GitHub Enterprise

You can request a 45-day trial to evaluate GitHub Enterprise Server. Your trial will be installed as a virtual appliance, with options for on-premises or cloud deployment. For a list of supported visualization platforms, see "Setting up a GitHub Enterprise Server instance."

Trials are not currently available for GitHub Enterprise Cloud, but we would be happy to provide a demonstration. If you're not sure whether GitHub Enterprise Server, GitHub Enterprise Cloud, or both are best for your organization, contact us.

Organizations with 12 or more developers typically benefit the most from GitHub Enterprise. If your organization has 11 or fewer developers, you may want to consider GitHub Team instead. For more information, see "GitHub's products."

Requesting a trial

GitHub Enterprise Server is installed as a virtual appliance. Determine the best person in your organization to set up a virtual machine, and ask that person to submit a trial request. You can begin your trial immediately after submitting a request.

Security alerts and GitHub Connect are not currently available in trials of GitHub Enterprise Server. Contact us for a demonstration of these features. For more information about these features, see "About security alerts for vulnerable dependencies" and "Connecting GitHub Enterprise Server to GitHub.com."

Starting your trial

To get the most out of your trial, follow these steps:

1. To set up an account for the GitHub Enterprise Web portal, click the link in the email you received after submitting your trial request, and follow the prompts.
2. Download your license file.
3. To install GitHub Enterprise Server, download the necessary components and upload your license file. For more information, see the instructions for your chosen visualization platform in "Setting up a GitHub Enterprise Server instance."
4. Create an organization.
5. To learn the basics of using GitHub, see:

• Quick start guide to GitHub webcast
• Understanding the GitHub flow in GitHub Guides
• Hello World in GitHub Guides

6. To configure your instance to meet your organization's needs, see "Configuring the GitHub Enterprise Server appliance."
7. To integrate GitHub Enterprise Server with your identity provider, see "Using SAML" and "Using LDAP."
8. Invite an unlimited number of people to join your trial.

• Add users to your GitHub Enterprise Server instance using built-in authentication or your configured identity provider. For more information, see "Using built in authentication."

• To invite people to become account administrators, visit the GitHub Enterprise Web portal.

  Tip: People you invite to become account administrators will receive an email with a link to accept your invitation.

Finishing your trial

You can upgrade to full licenses in the GitHub Enterprise Web portal at any time during the trial period.

If you haven't upgraded by the last day of your trial, you'll receive an email notifying you that your trial had ended. If you need more time to evaluate GitHub Enterprise, contact us to request an extension.