# Readers see "Connect a GitHub account with access to this repository to view this file"

**What you are seeing**

Readers see "Connect a GitHub account with access to this repository to view this file".

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## Why it happens

The file is in a private repository and that reader has no connected GitHub account that can reach it. Access is always per-person; there is no site-wide or admin-level GitHub connection.

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## What to do

Each reader presses Connect GitHub in the macro and authorises their own GitHub account. If they have several accounts, they can add more. The macro automatically tries all of them.

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## Settings involved

| **Setting**                        | **Where**                                                                                         | **What it does**                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| ---------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| There is no GitHub settings screen | Nowhere                                                                                           | The git capability declares no global settings tab and no space settings tab, so GitHub contributes nothing to Capable global settings or space settings. There is also no admin "connect the site to GitHub" screen, becaus |
| Hide GitHub across the whole site  | App property \`capable-global-hidden-capabilities\`, object name \`hiddenCapabilities\`, value    | Hides the capability tenant-wide. IMPORTANT: this gates the BYLINE ONLY. The macro module has no display conditions, so hiding the capability does not stop existing GitHub macros from rendering on pages.                  |
| Turn GitHub on or off per space    | Space property \`<APP\_HASH>\_capable\`, object name \`capabilities.alwaysOff\` / \`capabilities. | AlwaysOff suppresses the byline in that space; alwaysOn shows it even on pages with no GitHub macro. Again, byline only. Macros still render.                                                                                |

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## Limits that apply here

| **Limit**                                 | **Value** | **What happens**                                                                                                                           |
| ----------------------------------------- | --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Auto-convert: only two hosts              | \-        | Github.com blob links and raw.githubusercontent.com links only. Directory (tree/) links, gists and GitHub Enterprise hosts do not convert. |
| Connect polling gives up after 30 seconds | \-        | \-                                                                                                                                         |
| No caching of file content                | \-        | Every render of a GitHub-file macro re-fetches the file. A page with many GitHub macros consumes GitHub API budget on every view.          |

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## Related

[Admin wants to connect GitHub once on behalf of the whole site, and cannot find the settingThere is no site-level or admin-level GitHub connection, and no GitHub settings tab anywhe](https://help.gocapable.com/git/admin-wants-to-connect-github-once-on-behalf-of-the-whole-site-and-cannot-find-the-setting.html)

[Macro cannot find a file in a repository that still uses "master"The default branch is 'main' throughout. Only the Appfire File migrator defaults to 'maste](https://help.gocapable.com/git/macro-cannot-find-a-file-in-a-repository-that-still-uses-master.html)

[Permissions and accessThe rest of this family.](https://help.gocapable.com/git/permissions-and-access.html)

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_Found it? Good._