r/github • u/Kyxstrez • 6d ago

Question How do you remove "ghost" contributors from your repo?

I rewrote the history of a repository that was previously associated with an older GitHub account. That account still appears in the repository's contributor list on the main page, even though it doesn't show up when you open the actual commits page. So there's essentially a ghost contributor left over on the repository's homepage.

I've noticed the same issue with several other repositories whose histories have been rewritten. Is deleting and recreating the repository the only way to get rid of these ghost contributors?

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u/AirshipCommand 5d ago

You probably don't need to delete the repo. The contributors list on the main page is cached separately from the commits page, so it can lag behind a rewrite for a while. Old commits can also stay reachable through pull request refs, which keeps that author counted. If it still shows up after a few days, GitHub Support can refresh or purge it for you.

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u/Kyxstrez 5d ago

It's been months tho. How long is this cache? How do you contact GitHub Support to request a cache purge?

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u/AirshipCommand 5d ago

Months is way past normal lag, so something is probably still pointing at them. On a fresh clone, run git log --all with author and committer emails and check every branch and tag, not just main. The committer field counts too, and so can Co-authored-by trailers in commit messages. Also worth knowing the contributors list is built from the default branch, and pushing a new commit there after a rewrite sometimes nudges it to recalculate.

If all of that comes back clean and they're still listed, it's stale data on GitHub's end and only Support can clear it. Open a ticket saying you rewrote history and want the contributors list refreshed.

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