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Documentation updates for researchers#1966

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KatieB5/update-github-opensafely-repo-docs-info-for-researchers
May 6, 2026
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Documentation updates for researchers#1966
KatieB5 merged 2 commits intomainfrom
KatieB5/update-github-opensafely-repo-docs-info-for-researchers

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@KatieB5
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@KatieB5 KatieB5 commented Apr 24, 2026

Closes #433.

This PR updates the OpenSAFELY documentation, following changes to our processes around repo creation, transfer, and management, as part of #429.

Questions for reviewer(s)

  1. Does the flow of the updated docs make sense?
  2. Do we want to add a note to researchers in the "Default opensafely repository settings" section, to let them know they can request alternative settings e.g., require 'n' reviews on a pull request?

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cloudflare-workers-and-pages Bot commented Apr 24, 2026

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summary: This is looking close to ready now. I've added some very small suggestions for you to consider.

Caveat: I reviewed entirely on GitHub, not on site preview, so maybe there are potential issues with formatting that I haven't caught. But I don't think there should be any, as the formatting is not complicated here.

I'm happy to have a another quick look through before merging, particularly if there's another round of edit and review by someone else.

Comment on lines +13 to +14
- Have a new repository created for you in the `opensafely` GitHub organisation
- Create a repository in your own GitHub account, and request to have this transferred to the `opensafely` GitHub organisation later
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suggestion: Because this is in the "Getting Started" section along with the tutorial, perhaps it's worth briefly clarifying that a repository only needs to be in opensafely for real research purposes?

And not for just learning how OpenSAFELY works without needing access to real patient data. For that, you can keep the repository under your own personal account.

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I've updated to clarify by adding 'research' in here: "To create a repository for your OpenSAFELY research project, you can either:"

I think as this is in the "How-to" guide, it's reasonable to assume people are referencing it because they want to create a real research repo. They're guided through the process of making a repo in their own account for the purposes of the tutorial, in the tutorial itself.

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On the specific questions:

  1. Does the flow of the updated docs make sense?

It seems fine to me, but it's more difficult for me to pick up if we could make things clearer: I already know the process we're aiming at.

What I can say is that there is nothing clearly at odds against that process as I understand it.

  1. Do we want to add a note to researchers in the "Default opensafely repository settings" section, to let them know they can request alternative settings e.g., require 'n' reviews on a pull request?

I've just added another comment in context there.

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!!! warning
It is important that the study repository is _transferred_ into the `opensafely` organization, not _forked_ into it. Please [ask us](how-to-get-help.md#slack) if you have any problems with this process.
It is important that the study repository is _transferred_ into the `opensafely` organization, not forked into it. You can request to transfer your existing OpenSAFELY study repository by following the process outlined [here](repositories.md/#how-to-transfer-an-existing-repository-to-the-opensafely-organization).
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It is important that the study repository is transferred into the opensafely organization, not forked into it.

Will researchers still have the ability to fork a repo into the opensafely organization or should this warning now be reworded?

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@KatieB5 KatieB5 May 1, 2026

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That's a good question, and I'm not 100% sure. We haven't explicitly discussed forking, at least that I can remember. I would assume researchers won't be able to do this, as they're unable to create new repos within the opensafely org, and as I understand it (based on GitHub's documentation) you need this type of permission to be able to fork a repo.

Paging @StevenMaude for your thoughts/knowledge?

In terms of rewording, is it enough to remove the reference to forking?

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Will researchers still have the ability to fork a repo into the opensafely organization …?

I've not tested this. But I suspect the answer is no.

Forking a repository is effectively creating a repository that's part of a network with the original. So I think you would need to be able to create a new repository.

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@KatieB5's updated the text now, so this is done, I think 😃

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@KatieB5 KatieB5 changed the title Documentation updates for researchers (WIP) Documentation updates for researchers May 5, 2026
@KatieB5 KatieB5 force-pushed the KatieB5/update-github-opensafely-repo-docs-info-for-researchers branch from c954dd9 to 11b5ccd Compare May 5, 2026 16:08
This PR updates the OpenSAFELY documentation, following changes to our processes around repo creation,
transfer, and management (part of the work to move to a manual process for managing
`opensafely` GitHub repositories).
@KatieB5 KatieB5 force-pushed the KatieB5/update-github-opensafely-repo-docs-info-for-researchers branch from 11b5ccd to c9a9fe7 Compare May 5, 2026 16:24
@StevenMaude
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StevenMaude commented May 5, 2026

After I looked through the additional commit, I checked all the formatting on the preview version of the site. The formatting looks fine to me.

(I'm assuming there are only small changes now.)

@KatieB5 KatieB5 force-pushed the KatieB5/update-github-opensafely-repo-docs-info-for-researchers branch from c9a9fe7 to baa7b24 Compare May 6, 2026 10:10
@KatieB5 KatieB5 merged commit b5d826b into main May 6, 2026
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@KatieB5 KatieB5 deleted the KatieB5/update-github-opensafely-repo-docs-info-for-researchers branch May 6, 2026 13:22
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3 participants