Missing documentation for repository name limits

[TripleCamera]

Code of Conduct

• I have read and agree to the GitHub Docs project's Code of Conduct

What article on docs.github.com is affected?

Repository limits

What part(s) of the article would you like to see updated?

This page lacks limits for repository names.

Limits I have discovered:

• Maximum length: 100 characters. For names that are too long, GitHub displays an error message: "Name cannot be more than 100 characters" (This is already documented at Creating a new repository, but it would be better to document all the limits at one place.)
• Allowed characters: ASCII letters, digits, and the characters ., -, and _. For names containing non-ASCII characters, GitHub converts all non-ASCII characters to -, and displays a hint: "Your new repository will be created as SANITIZED_REPO. The repository name can only contain ASCII letters, digits, and the characters ., -, and _."
• Repository names must not end with .git. If the repository name ends with .git, GitHub displays a hint "The .git extension will be removed." and automatically removes the suffix.
• Repository names must not end with .wiki. If the repository name ends with .wiki, GitHub displays an error message: "The repository REPO cannot end in .wiki" and refuses to create it.

There may be more.

Additional information

No response

[welcome]

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[Sharra-writes]

@TripleCamera This looks like a pretty low-stakes addition to me, but I'm checking to make sure there's no reason we're not documenting it (like if the rules change too often to keep up).

[Sharra-writes]

@TripleCamera Documenting the things error messages already cover isn't necessary, and since naming isn't an ongoing limit, it doesn't really need to be in the repository limits article. We would be comfortable with changing step 5 in the creation article to read:

Type a name for your repository and an optional description. The repository name must not exceed 100 characters, and can only contain ASCII letters, digits, and the characters ., -, and _.

I'll put a help wanted label on this, and you or anyone else can open the PR to make the change.

If you're still concerned about the other items you mentioned, a community post would help us judge whether it's just you, or if there's widespread confusion.

[webdevpraveen]

Hi! I'd like to work on this. I'll add the repository name limits (max length, allowed characters, .git/.wiki restrictions) to the repository limits page. Will open a PR shortly.