I maintain a 6,000+ star repository and suddenly lost push access today

[eoaou]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

Body

I am the maintainer of cloud-mail, a repository with 6,000+ stars that is actively used by many developers.
Today, when I tried to push new code, I lost access entirely. My profile (https://github.com/eoao) now returns a 404 error, and my personal information has been removed from the repository page.
I have not received any notification or explanation. I have no idea what policy I may have violated, if any. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[AbhinavPabbaraju]

Hey, what you’re describing is typically not a standard permission change — it strongly suggests an account-level action taken by GitHub.

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What likely happened

Based on your symptoms:

• Profile returning 404
• Repository still exists but you lost access
• No prior notification

This usually indicates one of the following:

1. Account suspension or restriction

GitHub may have:

• suspended your account
• or temporarily restricted it

In this state:

• your profile becomes inaccessible (404)
• you lose push/admin access
• repos may still exist but are detached from you

---

2. Ownership transfer / access revocation (less likely)

If this were just a repo permission issue:

• your profile would still be visible
• only repo access would be affected

Since your profile is 404, this is likely not just a repo-level issue.

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3. Automated enforcement (no immediate notification)

GitHub sometimes applies:

• automated abuse/spam detection
• policy enforcement (e.g., DMCA, ToS violations)

In such cases:

• notifications can be delayed
• or sent to email/spam

---

What you should check immediately

1. Email (including spam)

Look for:

• GitHub Trust & Safety emails
• DMCA notices
• account restriction messages

---

2. Try logging in

• If login fails → likely suspension
• If login works but profile is 404 → restricted/hidden state

---

3. Check repo access via another account

• Does the repo still exist publicly?
• Has ownership changed?

---

Recovery steps

1. Contact GitHub Support (most important)

Go to:
https://support.github.com/contact

Select:

Account suspended or access issue

Include:

• your username
• repo name (cloud-mail)
• description of issue
• mention that profile returns 404

---

2. Email support directly (if needed)

Send to:
[support@github.com](mailto:support@github.com)

Keep it:

• concise
• factual
• polite

---

3. Avoid creating new accounts to bypass

This can:

• worsen the situation
• violate GitHub policies

Only use another account to contact support, not to bypass restrictions.

---

Important context

For large/public repos:

• GitHub may act quickly if there are:

  • policy violations
  • reported abuse
  • licensing or content issues

These actions can be:

• immediate
• without prior warning

---

[Gecko51]

Profile returning 404 + losing push access at the same time almost always means your account got flagged or suspended. GitHub doesn't always send a notification right away (or it ends up in spam), so check your email inbox and spam folder for anything from GitHub Trust & Safety.

A few things:

1. Don't create a new account to try to regain access. That can make the situation worse if GitHub sees it as ban evasion.

2. Go to https://support.github.com/contact and file a ticket. Pick "Account" as the category. Include your username, the repo name (cloud-mail), and explain that your profile is 404 and you lost push access with no prior notice. Keep it short and factual.

3. If your login still works, try visiting https://github.com/settings/profile while logged in. If you can see your settings but your public profile is 404, that confirms a restriction rather than a full suspension.

4. If the repo is under an org, check whether another org admin might have changed your permissions. But the 404 profile points to an account-level action, not a repo-level one.

GitHub support is usually pretty responsive for cases involving large public repos. They know the stakes when a repo has active users depending on it. Expect a reply within a few business days.

If you get a response and it turns out to be a false positive (happens more often than you'd think), they'll reinstate everything. Your commits and repo should still be intact.

lmk how it goes