Can I restrict access to specified packages in a github repository?

Question

If I have a git repo that has multiple packages that relate to some disclosed and some not disclosed products, is it possible to restrict access to the packages that have undisclosed data?

For example:

There are three full time employees and 2 contractors that can clone the repo so that they can debug and contribute to the code base, but the contractors aren't disclosed on unreleased product data while the full timers are.

I'd like the full timers to have full access to the repo but I want the contractors to be blocked from accessing the packages that have unreleased product data inside.

I've been fishing around in here, but not finding exactly what I am looking for: https://docs.github.com/en/enterprise-cloud@latest/organizations

Answer 1

Git read permissions apply to an entire repository at once. There's no effective way to allow users to read some things and not others; it's all or nothing.

Depending on your needs, you can take one of three approaches:

1. Two big repos: one for contractors and full-time employees, one for full-time employees only
2. One repo per package, with appropriate permissions
3. Some mix of #1 and #2

The second approach is a little more to manage, but it'll be much easier to adjust package permissions that way.