Get your has-a.tech address

Before you start

You need:

• A GitHub account that's at least 30 days old. If you don't have one, sign up now and come back in a month. This rule helps keep out spammers.
• Your school email address, or another way to show you're a student (see no school email).
• To be 13 or older. That's GitHub's minimum age too.

1. Build your site on GitHub Pages

Your address points to a website, so the website needs to exist first. GitHub Pages hosts it for free. If you already have a site somewhere else, skip to using another host.

Create the repository

1. On GitHub, click + (top right) and choose New repository.
2. For the name, type your-username.github.io, using your exact GitHub username. For example, if you're maya-codes, it's maya-codes.github.io.
3. Choose Public, tick Add a README file, and click Create repository.

Add your first page

1. In your new repository, click Add file → Create new file.
2. Name it index.html.
3. Paste this in, and change the text to be about you:

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Maya's site</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Hi, I'm Maya</h1>
  <p>I'm a grade 11 student who likes robotics and drawing.</p>
  <h2>Projects</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>Line-following robot for our school club</li>
    <li>A comic about my cat</li>
  </ul>
</body>
</html>

4. Click Commit changes…, then Commit changes again.

Turn on GitHub Pages

1. In the repository, click Settings, then Pages in the left menu.
2. Under Build and deployment, set Source to Deploy from a branch.
3. Set Branch to main and the folder to / (root), then click Save.
4. Wait a minute or two, then open https://your-username.github.io. You should see your page.

2. Verify you're a student

1. Go to the verify page and click Sign in with GitHub. We only see your public profile.
2. Enter your school email address and click Send code.
3. Check your school inbox (and spam folder) for a 6-digit code, and enter it.

You only do this once. We don't keep your email address: we just remember that your GitHub account belongs to a verified student.

3. Choose your name

Type a name into the box on the home page to see if it's free. Names:

• use only lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, and can't start or end with a hyphen
• are at least 2 characters long
• can't look like a login page or a well-known brand (like paypal or secure-login), since those are used for scams

Each GitHub account gets one name. Using your own name or nickname is a good choice.

4. Send your request

Your request is a small file added to our register on GitHub. The easy way:

1. Open the claim helper, fill in the form, and click Create my file on GitHub.
2. GitHub opens with your file ready. Click Commit changes…. GitHub makes your own copy (a "fork") automatically.
3. Click Propose changes, then Create pull request.
4. Fill in the short checklist, including the link to your site, and click Create pull request again.

What the file looks like

If you'd rather write it yourself, create domains/yourname.json in your fork:

{
  "description": "My portfolio: robotics and drawing projects.",
  "owner": {
    "username": "maya-codes"
  },
  "records": {
    "CNAME": "maya-codes.github.io"
  }
}

• description: what your site is, in a sentence
• owner.username: your GitHub username. It must match the account sending the request.
• records: where your address points. For GitHub Pages, that's your-username.github.io.

Don't put your email address in this file. Everything in it is public.

5. Wait for the review

Within a minute, our bot comments on your pull request:

• ✅ Looks good: a person will look at your site and approve it, usually within a few days.
• ❌ Problems found: the comment says what to fix. Edit your file in your fork, and the bot checks again automatically.

Keep an eye on your GitHub notifications in case a reviewer asks a question. Once your request is merged, your address goes live within a few minutes.

6. Connect your address

GitHub Pages needs to know about your new address.

1. In your your-username.github.io repository, go to Settings → Pages.
2. Under Custom domain, type yourname.has-a.tech and click Save.
3. Wait for the DNS check to pass. It shows a green tick.
4. Once it's available, tick Enforce HTTPS. GitHub sets up the security certificate for you, which can take up to an hour.

Visit https://yourname.has-a.tech. That's your site, at your own address.

Using another host

Any host that supports custom domains works. Use the right value in records, then add yourname.has-a.tech as a custom domain in your host's settings after your request is merged.

• Azure Static Web Apps: "CNAME": "your-app.azurestaticapps.net". In Azure, choose Custom domains → Add → Custom domain on other DNS.
• Vercel: "CNAME": "cname.vercel-dns.com"
• Netlify: "CNAME": "your-site.netlify.app"
• Cloudflare Pages: "CNAME": "your-project.pages.dev"
• Your own server: "A": ["203.0.113.10"] with your server's public IP address

If your host asks you to add a TXT record to prove you own the address, send a second request with a file like domains/_vercel.yourname.json containing "records": { "TXT": "the-value-they-give-you" }.

Troubleshooting

The bot says my account is too new

Your GitHub account needs to be at least 30 days old. Come back once it is.

The bot says I'm not verified

Make sure you completed the verify page while signed in to the same GitHub account that opened the pull request. Then close and reopen your pull request to run the check again.

My browser says the site is "not secure"

Your host hasn't issued a certificate for your address yet. Check you added yourname.has-a.tech as a custom domain in your host's settings, then give it up to an hour.

I see a 404 page

Check that index.html is in the main folder of your repository, and that the custom domain is saved in Settings → Pages.

My school isn't recognized

Ask us to add your school, or verify by email instead.

Changing or removing your address

Open a new pull request that edits or deletes your file in domains/. Only you can change your own name.