So, uh, it's not clear what exactly people are expecting me to do here. Wire up my repo to my contractors temporarily (not even sure how I'd do that as i don't have access to their machines or filesystems) then detach when github is back (it's already back)?
A single repo can have many remotes. Adding additional remotes does not prevent you from also using old remotes, nor do you ever have to remove a remote that you intend on using again in the future.
Obviously it's a moot point for you now, but getting comfortable with how git remotes works is something that could pay dividends for you in the future.
I have multiple remotes already and know how they work. What I'm asking is, if github is down, and I don't have ssh or other access to my contractor's repo on their machine, what is my remote supposed to attach to?
Also, the additional effort to manage multiple remotes is entirely nontrivial.
They can always tar up their repo and send it over. You then unpack it on your end, then set it as a remote, pushing/pulling from it as you see fit. Admittedly, not the greatest workflow, but it doesn't require any new tools if you are already familiar with remotes.
As another alternative, git-format-patch/git-apply or git-bundle may be a quicker way of shipping changes around.
You don't need write access to a remote for that remote to be useful. Two or more people can collaborate using public repos that others may fetch from but not push to. Then, in lieu of github PRs, you request other people pull from you with email or however you like.
If you need access control without VPNs or whatnot (or if you simply want something closer to the github workflow), there are other services similar to github that can almost certainly provide what you need, such as gitlab.
> "Also, the additional effort to manage multiple remotes is entirely nontrivial."
With practice, I'd say it asymptotically approaches trivial.
