What does the GitHub Enterprise 'legal hold' capability allow administrators to do?
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Short Explanation and Infographic
Legal hold in enterprise systems means 'don't delete this — lawyers need it.' In the GitHub context, it's about preserving audit logs and repository data beyond normal retention periods to satisfy litigation hold orders or regulatory requirements.
Full explanation below image
Full Explanation
Legal hold in the GitHub Enterprise context refers to the capability to preserve data beyond its normal retention period when required for legal proceedings, regulatory investigations, or compliance requirements. Practically, this involves: (1) Configuring longer audit log retention or streaming audit logs to external storage that the organization controls indefinitely. (2) Ensuring repositories are not deleted during active legal holds (admin policies). (3) Archiving repositories rather than deleting them to preserve code history. (4) Using GitHub's audit log export functionality to capture evidence. While GitHub.com doesn't have a built-in 'legal hold' toggle, enterprises can implement these practices through a combination of audit streaming, administrative policies, and data retention settings. This is critical for eDiscovery and regulatory compliance scenarios.