This version of GitHub Enterprise Server was discontinued on 2024-09-25. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise Server. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Setting up a trial of GitHub Enterprise Server

You can try GitHub Enterprise Server for free.

In this article

About trials of GitHub Enterprise Server

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 more information about GitHub Enterprise Server, and for a list of supported virtualization platforms, see "About GitHub Enterprise Server."

Dependabot alerts and GitHub Connect are not currently available in trials of GitHub Enterprise Server. For a demonstration of these features, contact GitHub's Sales team. For more information about these features, see "About Dependabot alerts" and "Enabling GitHub Connect for GitHub.com."

Trials are also available for GitHub Enterprise Cloud. For more information, see "Setting up a trial of GitHub Enterprise Cloud."

If you're not sure whether GitHub Enterprise Cloud, GitHub Enterprise Server, or both are best for your organization, contact GitHub's Sales team. If your organization has 11 or fewer developers, consider GitHub Team; organizations with 12 or more developers typically benefit the most from GitHub Enterprise. For more information, see "GitHub’s plans."

Setting up your trial of GitHub Enterprise Server

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.

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. Then, download your license file. For more information, see "Managing your license for GitHub Enterprise."

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."

Next steps

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

  1. Create an organization.
  2. To learn the basics of using GitHub, see:
  3. To configure your instance to meet your organization's needs, see "Configuring GitHub Enterprise."
  4. To integrate GitHub Enterprise Server with your identity provider, see "Using SAML for enterprise IAM" and "Using LDAP."
  5. Invite 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 "Configuring built-in authentication."

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

      Note

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

To learn how your enterprise can use GitHub Enterprise Server most effectively, see "Best practices for enterprises."

For information on planned features and products, see the GitHub public roadmap.

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 GitHub's Sales team to request an extension.

Further reading