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page: docs/guides/create-a-scope
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# Create a scope

  • > Sign up at protos.rip — onboarding picks your handle and creates your personal scope.
  • > Visit [/dashboard/new-org](/dashboard/new-org) to create an additional organization scope.
  • > Once the scope exists, point the buf CLI at it via `protos.rip/<scope>/<module>` references.

## Personal scopes

Every protos.rip account has one personal scope, created when you complete the sign-up onboarding step that picks your handle. The slug is that handle — it doubles as your username for the rest of the product.
Personal scopes are free and include unlimited public modules; the private-module limit comes from your default plan. Use the personal scope when you’re publishing under your own name and don’t need teammates.

## Organization scopes

Create one when you want a shared namespace, multiple members, or a paid plan. Visit [/dashboard/new-org](/dashboard/new-org) and fill in display name, slug, and plan.
The slug is what appears in module URLs as `protos.rip/<slug>/<module>` — pick something short and recognisable. The dashboard checks availability as you type.
Review the [pricing page](/pricing) for the current plan options before choosing one.

## Naming rules

Handles and org slugs share the same validation. The slug is between 2 and 39 characters, lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens. Hyphens cannot lead, trail, or appear consecutively.
Some handles are reserved or banned and the slug-availability check rejects them.
Changing a slug after creation is not supported — pick something you can keep.

## After the scope exists

The buf CLI doesn’t create scopes; create the scope in the dashboard first, then point modules at it.
Push to a module under a scope that doesn’t exist and the registry returns `module "<scope>/<module>" not found` — the module lookup fails before the scope-not-found check fires.
Create the module under your scope with `buf registry module create protos.rip/<scope>/<module>` — see [Create and publish a module](/docs/guides/create-and-publish-a-module).

## See also

← Create and publish a module Depend on a module →