My profile and gists are returning a 404 when shared

[salidaespinoza88-cmd]

I am completely new to github, I hope this is the right place to ask for help.

I am trying to share my gists, but when people view them, they say they get a 404. even tho they are set to public.

I do not know what to do to allow people to see them

[shinybrightstar]

👋 Welcome to the GitHub Community, @salidaespinoza88-cmd! Congratulations on your first post! 🎉

You are more likely to get a useful response if you are posting your question(s) in the applicable category. Check out this Guide on how to post in the right category. It'll ensure your questions and discussions reach the right people faster!

This particular discussion belongs in the General category, I've gone ahead and moved it for you. Good luck!

[denizaskr]

Hi and welcome to GitHub! 👋

A 404 on a public gist usually means that something about the URL or visibility is off, not that you did anything wrong. Here are a few things you can check:

1. Make sure you’re sharing the gist URL, not just your profile

If you share a link like:

https://gist.github.com/salidaespinoza88-cmd

that’s only your gist profile page.

Instead, open the specific gist and share the URL that looks like:

https://gist.github.com/salidaespinoza88-cmd/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

(there should be a long ID at the end)

2. Double-check that the gist is really public

Open the gist and look in the top-right area:

It should say Public

If it’s a secret gist or you’re logged in while viewing it, it might look fine for you but still not be accessible in the way you expect.

You can also try creating a brand new test gist with a simple file (for example test.txt) and set it to Public, then share that link.

3. Verify your account and email

If your GitHub account is very new or your email isn’t verified yet, sometimes content can be limited until you finish setup.

You can check this under:

Settings → Emails → Verify

Once your email is verified and your account is fully active, public content should be visible to others.

If you’re comfortable sharing one example gist URL, people here can test it and tell you exactly what they see on their side. That will make it much easier to pinpoint what’s going on.

[Nixxx19]

If your public gists are returning a 404 to other people, here are the most common causes and how to fix them:

✅ 1. Make sure you’re sharing the correct URL

A public gist should look like:
https://gist.github.com//
If you accidentally share the edit URL (the one ending in /edit), others will get a 404.

✅ 2. Confirm that the gist is actually Public, not Secret

Open the gist → look at the top-right corner.
If it says Secret gist, it won’t appear in search and only people with the link can view it.
If it’s public, the label should say Public gist.
(Secret gists are still viewable by others, but if you copied the wrong URL, they can get a 404.)

✅ 3. Check if you’re sharing a forked gist

If you forked someone else’s gist and then deleted your own fork, the link you shared may no longer exist.

✅ 4. Make sure the account or gist wasn’t deleted or renamed

If you recently renamed your GitHub username, old gist URLs may break.

✅ 5. Try opening the link in an incognito/private browser window

If you can open it but others can’t, this test will show whether the gist is actually public.

If none of that works…

Post one of the failing gist URLs (if you’re comfortable sharing it), and people can help verify whether the link itself is valid.

[omar-hady]

Why Your Public Gists Might Be Showing 404

It’s likely that your gists are not actually visible to the public even though they appear “public” to you. Here are the most common causes and how to fix them:

1. Make sure the link is correct

A valid public gist URL must look like this:
https://gist.github.com/username/gist-id
If the link is missing the gist ID or has the wrong username, others will get a 404.

2. The gist might actually be secret

Secret gists look normal when you’re logged in, but they are invisible to everyone else.
They always return 404 for other users.

GitHub also does not allow turning a secret gist into a public one.

Fix:
Create a new gist → choose Public → paste your content → share the new link.

3. Test while logged out

Open the gist link in an incognito/private window.
If it shows 404 when you’re logged out, then the gist is not public.

4. If you changed your GitHub username

Old links that contain your previous username will stop working.
Share the updated link with your current username.

5. If none of this helps

Contact GitHub Support and include:

• Your GitHub username
• The exact gist URLs
• A screenshot of the 404 behavior

They can confirm if there is an account or visibility issue.