REST API endpoints for Git commits

About Git commits

A Git commit is a snapshot of the hierarchy (Git tree) and the contents of the files (Git blob) in a Git repository. These endpoints allow you to read and write commit objects to your Git database on GitHub Enterprise Cloud.

Create a commit

Creates a new Git commit object.

Signature verification object

The response will include a verification object that describes the result of verifying the commit's signature. The following fields are included in the verification object:

Name	Type	Description
`verified`	`boolean`	Indicates whether GitHub considers the signature in this commit to be verified.
`reason`	`string`	The reason for verified value. Possible values and their meanings are enumerated in the table below.
`signature`	`string`	The signature that was extracted from the commit.
`payload`	`string`	The value that was signed.
`verified_at`	`string`	The date the signature was verified by GitHub.

These are the possible values for reason in the verification object:

Value	Description
`expired_key`	The key that made the signature is expired.
`not_signing_key`	The "signing" flag is not among the usage flags in the GPG key that made the signature.
`gpgverify_error`	There was an error communicating with the signature verification service.
`gpgverify_unavailable`	The signature verification service is currently unavailable.
`unsigned`	The object does not include a signature.
`unknown_signature_type`	A non-PGP signature was found in the commit.
`no_user`	No user was associated with the `committer` email address in the commit.
`unverified_email`	The `committer` email address in the commit was associated with a user, but the email address is not verified on their account.
`bad_email`	The `committer` email address in the commit is not included in the identities of the PGP key that made the signature.
`unknown_key`	The key that made the signature has not been registered with any user's account.
`malformed_signature`	There was an error parsing the signature.
`invalid`	The signature could not be cryptographically verified using the key whose key-id was found in the signature.
`valid`	None of the above errors applied, so the signature is considered to be verified.

Fine-grained access tokens for "Create a commit"

This endpoint works with the following fine-grained token types:

The fine-grained token must have the following permission set:

"Contents" repository permissions (write)

Parameters for "Create a commit"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept` string Setting to `application/vnd.github+json` is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`owner` string Required The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
`repo` string Required The name of the repository without the `.git` extension. The name is not case sensitive.

Name, Type, Description

message string Required

The commit message

tree string Required

The SHA of the tree object this commit points to

parents array of strings

The full SHAs of the commits that were the parents of this commit. If omitted or empty, the commit will be written as a root commit. For a single parent, an array of one SHA should be provided; for a merge commit, an array of more than one should be provided.

author object

Information about the author of the commit. By default, the author will be the authenticated user and the current date. See the author and committer object below for details.

Properties of author

Name, Type, Description
`name` string Required The name of the author (or committer) of the commit
`email` string Required The email of the author (or committer) of the commit
`date` string Indicates when this commit was authored (or committed). This is a timestamp in ISO 8601 format: `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ`.

committer object

Information about the person who is making the commit. By default, committer will use the information set in author. See the author and committer object below for details.

Properties of committer

Name, Type, Description
`name` string The name of the author (or committer) of the commit
`email` string The email of the author (or committer) of the commit
`date` string Indicates when this commit was authored (or committed). This is a timestamp in ISO 8601 format: `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ`.

signature string

The PGP signature of the commit. GitHub adds the signature to the gpgsig header of the created commit. For a commit signature to be verifiable by Git or GitHub, it must be an ASCII-armored detached PGP signature over the string commit as it would be written to the object database. To pass a signature parameter, you need to first manually create a valid PGP signature, which can be complicated. You may find it easier to use the command line to create signed commits.

HTTP response status codes for "Create a commit"

Status code	Description
`201`	Created
`404`	Resource not found
`409`	Conflict
`422`	Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Create a commit"

If you access GitHub at GHE.com, replace api.github.com with your enterprise's dedicated subdomain at api.SUBDOMAIN.ghe.com.

Request example

post/repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/commits

curl -L \
  -X POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/commits \
  -d '{"message":"my commit message","author":{"name":"Mona Octocat","email":"octocat@github.com","date":"2008-07-09T16:13:30+12:00"},"parents":["7d1b31e74ee336d15cbd21741bc88a537ed063a0"],"tree":"827efc6d56897b048c772eb4087f854f46256132","signature":"-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----\n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\neSakNQMfbbMcljkha+ZMuVQX1K9aRlVqbmv3ZMWh+OijLYVU2bc=\n=5Io4\n-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----\n"}'

Response

Status: 201

{
  "sha": "7638417db6d59f3c431d3e1f261cc637155684cd",
  "node_id": "MDY6Q29tbWl0NzYzODQxN2RiNmQ1OWYzYzQzMWQzZTFmMjYxY2M2MzcxNTU2ODRjZA==",
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/7638417db6d59f3c431d3e1f261cc637155684cd",
  "author": {
    "date": "2014-11-07T22:01:45Z",
    "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
    "email": "octocat@github.com"
  },
  "committer": {
    "date": "2014-11-07T22:01:45Z",
    "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
    "email": "octocat@github.com"
  },
  "message": "my commit message",
  "tree": {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/trees/827efc6d56897b048c772eb4087f854f46256132",
    "sha": "827efc6d56897b048c772eb4087f854f46256132"
  },
  "parents": [
    {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/7d1b31e74ee336d15cbd21741bc88a537ed063a0",
      "sha": "7d1b31e74ee336d15cbd21741bc88a537ed063a0",
      "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/7d1b31e74ee336d15cbd21741bc88a537ed063a0"
    }
  ],
  "verification": {
    "verified": false,
    "reason": "unsigned",
    "signature": null,
    "payload": null,
    "verified_at": null
  },
  "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/7638417db6d59f3c431d3e1f261cc637155684cd"
}

Get a commit object

Gets a Git commit object.

To get the contents of a commit, see "Get a commit."

Signature verification object

The response will include a verification object that describes the result of verifying the commit's signature. The following fields are included in the verification object:

Name	Type	Description
`verified`	`boolean`	Indicates whether GitHub considers the signature in this commit to be verified.
`reason`	`string`	The reason for verified value. Possible values and their meanings are enumerated in the table below.
`signature`	`string`	The signature that was extracted from the commit.
`payload`	`string`	The value that was signed.
`verified_at`	`string`	The date the signature was verified by GitHub.

These are the possible values for reason in the verification object:

Value	Description
`expired_key`	The key that made the signature is expired.
`not_signing_key`	The "signing" flag is not among the usage flags in the GPG key that made the signature.
`gpgverify_error`	There was an error communicating with the signature verification service.
`gpgverify_unavailable`	The signature verification service is currently unavailable.
`unsigned`	The object does not include a signature.
`unknown_signature_type`	A non-PGP signature was found in the commit.
`no_user`	No user was associated with the `committer` email address in the commit.
`unverified_email`	The `committer` email address in the commit was associated with a user, but the email address is not verified on their account.
`bad_email`	The `committer` email address in the commit is not included in the identities of the PGP key that made the signature.
`unknown_key`	The key that made the signature has not been registered with any user's account.
`malformed_signature`	There was an error parsing the signature.
`invalid`	The signature could not be cryptographically verified using the key whose key-id was found in the signature.
`valid`	None of the above errors applied, so the signature is considered to be verified.

Fine-grained access tokens for "Get a commit object"

This endpoint works with the following fine-grained token types:

The fine-grained token must have the following permission set:

"Contents" repository permissions (read)

This endpoint can be used without authentication or the aforementioned permissions if only public resources are requested.

Parameters for "Get a commit object"

Headers
Name, Type, Description
`accept` string Setting to `application/vnd.github+json` is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
`owner` string Required The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
`repo` string Required The name of the repository without the `.git` extension. The name is not case sensitive.
`commit_sha` string Required The SHA of the commit.

HTTP response status codes for "Get a commit object"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK
`404`	Resource not found
`409`	Conflict

Code samples for "Get a commit object"

If you access GitHub at GHE.com, replace api.github.com with your enterprise's dedicated subdomain at api.SUBDOMAIN.ghe.com.

Request example

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/commits/{commit_sha}

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/commits/COMMIT_SHA

Response

Status: 200

{
  "sha": "7638417db6d59f3c431d3e1f261cc637155684cd",
  "node_id": "MDY6Q29tbWl0NmRjYjA5YjViNTc4NzVmMzM0ZjYxYWViZWQ2OTVlMmU0MTkzZGI1ZQ==",
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/7638417db6d59f3c431d3e1f261cc637155684cd",
  "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/7638417db6d59f3c431d3e1f261cc637155684cd",
  "author": {
    "date": "2014-11-07T22:01:45Z",
    "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
    "email": "octocat@github.com"
  },
  "committer": {
    "date": "2014-11-07T22:01:45Z",
    "name": "Monalisa Octocat",
    "email": "octocat@github.com"
  },
  "message": "added readme, because im a good github citizen",
  "tree": {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/trees/691272480426f78a0138979dd3ce63b77f706feb",
    "sha": "691272480426f78a0138979dd3ce63b77f706feb"
  },
  "parents": [
    {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/1acc419d4d6a9ce985db7be48c6349a0475975b5",
      "sha": "1acc419d4d6a9ce985db7be48c6349a0475975b5",
      "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/7638417db6d59f3c431d3e1f261cc637155684cd"
    }
  ],
  "verification": {
    "verified": false,
    "reason": "unsigned",
    "signature": null,
    "payload": null,
    "verified_at": null
  }
}