# Helpful Tip: rename package on github to not having ".jl" and back (to make a permanent alias)

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/helpful-tip-rename-package-on-github-to-not-having-jl-and-back-to-make-a-permanent-alias/7315>\
**Category:** General Usage\
**Created:** [November 26, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/helpful-tip-rename-package-on-github-to-not-having-jl-and-back-to-make-a-permanent-alias/7315 "2017-11-26T01:04:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![djsegal](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/djsegal/32/13752_2.png) [@djsegal](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/djsegal)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/helpful-tip-rename-package-on-github-to-not-having-jl-and-back-to-make-a-permanent-alias/7315/1 "2017-11-26T01:04:46Z")

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Lets say:

- you have a package, `Foo.jl`, on github

Now:

- if someone goes to [github.com/your\_user\_name/foo](http://github.com/your_user_name/foo)
- it breaks and they get a 404 (they needed to add `.jl` to url)

However:

- if you rename the package to `Foo` and then back to `Foo.jl`
- it retains the alias allowing less people to see the `404`

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**Author:** ![juliohm](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/juliohm/32/215266_2.png) [@juliohm](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/juliohm)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/helpful-tip-rename-package-on-github-to-not-having-jl-and-back-to-make-a-permanent-alias/7315/2 "2017-11-26T01:34:09Z")

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Why would you be interested in dropping the \*.jl from the URL? I like that the extension makes Julia packages unique on the web. It is very unlikely that a name ending with \*.jl is not related to Julia.

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**Author:** ![chakravala](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/chakravala/32/6832_2.png) [@chakravala](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/chakravala)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/helpful-tip-rename-package-on-github-to-not-having-jl-and-back-to-make-a-permanent-alias/7315/3 "2017-11-26T02:02:04Z")

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@juliohm I think his point was to drop the `.jl` and then add it back, so that both URL’s point the same package with and without the `.jl` extension. This way you don’t have to type `.jl` into the URL but it still redirects you there. So he’s not advocating not having the extension, but that github will redirect the link

when you rename a repo on github, the previous URL still redirects you to the new one

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**Author:** ![juliohm](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/juliohm/32/215266_2.png) [@juliohm](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/juliohm)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/helpful-tip-rename-package-on-github-to-not-having-jl-and-back-to-make-a-permanent-alias/7315/4 "2017-11-26T02:05:02Z")

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I understood his writeup @chakravala, I am just wondering why bother removing the \*.jl from the URL?

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**Author:** ![djsegal](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/djsegal/32/13752_2.png) [@djsegal](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/djsegal)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/helpful-tip-rename-package-on-github-to-not-having-jl-and-back-to-make-a-permanent-alias/7315/5 "2017-11-26T02:13:33Z")

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Because users mess up urls all the time