Unable to Set Up New Projects in New GitHub Organizations

Issue

When attempting to set up a new project in a newly created GitHub organization using GitHub OAuth/Classic integration, the project setup fails without displaying a specific error.

Root Cause

As of October 2023, GitHub now disables deploy keys by default for new organizations. CircleCI requires deploy keys to properly set up and access your projects.

Resolution

Enable Deploy Keys in GitHub Organization Settings

1. Log in to GitHub
2. Navigate to your organization
3. Click on Settings at the top of the organization page
4. In the left sidebar, click on Actions > General
5. Scroll down to find the Deploy keys section
6. Enable the option for Allow repositories in this organization to create deploy keys
7. Click Save

Retry Project Setup in CircleCI

After enabling deploy keys:

1. Return to CircleCI
2. Refresh the page
3. Attempt to set up your project again

Additional Information

• This issue only affects new GitHub organizations with new projects
• Existing organizations with previously set up CircleCI projects generally won't encounter this issue
• GitHub made this change in October 2023 as part of their security enhancements
• For more information on GitHub's change, see their changelog announcement

Related Documentation

• CircleCI GitHub Integration Guide
• Understanding GitHub Deploy Keys