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This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2023-01-18. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

We've recently moved some of the REST API documentation. If you can't find what you're looking for, you might try the new Branches, Collaborators, Commits, Deploy Keys, Deployments, GitHub Pages, Releases, Metrics, Webhooks REST API pages.

Branches

Use the REST API to modify branches and their protection settings.

List branches

Works with GitHub Apps

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
acceptstring

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
ownerstringRequired

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repostringRequired

The name of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

Query parameters
Name, Type, Description
protectedboolean

Setting to true returns only protected branches. When set to false, only unprotected branches are returned. Omitting this parameter returns all branches.

per_pageinteger

The number of results per page (max 100).

Default: 30

pageinteger

Page number of the results to fetch.

Default: 1

HTTP response status codes

Status codeDescription
200

OK

404

Resource not found

Code samples

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches
curl \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/branches

Response

Status: 200
[ { "name": "master", "commit": { "sha": "c5b97d5ae6c19d5c5df71a34c7fbeeda2479ccbc", "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/c5b97d5ae6c19d5c5df71a34c7fbeeda2479ccbc" }, "protected": true, "protection": { "required_status_checks": { "enforcement_level": "non_admins", "contexts": [ "ci-test", "linter" ] } }, "protection_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/master/protection" } ]

Get a branch

Works with GitHub Apps

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
acceptstring

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
ownerstringRequired

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repostringRequired

The name of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

branchstringRequired

The name of the branch. Cannot contain wildcard characters. To use wildcard characters in branch names, use the GraphQL API.

HTTP response status codes

Status codeDescription
200

OK

301

Moved permanently

404

Resource not found

Code samples

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch}
curl \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/BRANCH

Response

Status: 200
{ "name": "main", "commit": { "sha": "7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d", "node_id": "MDY6Q29tbWl0MTI5NjI2OTo3ZmQxYTYwYjAxZjkxYjMxNGY1OTk1NWE0ZTRkNGU4MGQ4ZWRmMTFk", "commit": { "author": { "name": "The Octocat", "email": "octocat@nowhere.com", "date": "2012-03-06T23:06:50Z" }, "committer": { "name": "The Octocat", "email": "octocat@nowhere.com", "date": "2012-03-06T23:06:50Z" }, "message": "Merge pull request #6 from Spaceghost/patch-1\n\nNew line at end of file.", "tree": { "sha": "b4eecafa9be2f2006ce1b709d6857b07069b4608", "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/trees/b4eecafa9be2f2006ce1b709d6857b07069b4608" }, "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d", "comment_count": 77, "verification": { "verified": false, "reason": "unsigned", "signature": null, "payload": null } }, "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d", "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d/comments", "author": { "login": "octocat", "id": 583231, "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjU4MzIzMQ==", "avatar_url": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/583231?v=4", "gravatar_id": "", "url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "site_admin": false }, "committer": { "login": "octocat", "id": 583231, "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjU4MzIzMQ==", "avatar_url": "https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/583231?v=4", "gravatar_id": "", "url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "site_admin": false }, "parents": [ { "sha": "553c2077f0edc3d5dc5d17262f6aa498e69d6f8e", "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/553c2077f0edc3d5dc5d17262f6aa498e69d6f8e", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/553c2077f0edc3d5dc5d17262f6aa498e69d6f8e" }, { "sha": "762941318ee16e59dabbacb1b4049eec22f0d303", "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/762941318ee16e59dabbacb1b4049eec22f0d303", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/762941318ee16e59dabbacb1b4049eec22f0d303" } ] }, "_links": { "self": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/main", "html": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/tree/main" }, "protected": false, "protection": { "enabled": false, "required_status_checks": { "enforcement_level": "off", "contexts": [], "checks": [] } }, "protection_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/main/protection" }

Rename a branch

Works with GitHub Apps

Renames a branch in a repository.

Note: Although the API responds immediately, the branch rename process might take some extra time to complete in the background. You won't be able to push to the old branch name while the rename process is in progress. For more information, see "Renaming a branch".

The permissions required to use this endpoint depends on whether you are renaming the default branch.

To rename a non-default branch:

  • Users must have push access.
  • GitHub Apps must have the contents:write repository permission.

To rename the default branch:

  • Users must have admin or owner permissions.
  • GitHub Apps must have the administration:write repository permission.

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
acceptstring

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
ownerstringRequired

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repostringRequired

The name of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

branchstringRequired

The name of the branch. Cannot contain wildcard characters. To use wildcard characters in branch names, use the GraphQL API.

Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
new_namestringRequired

The new name of the branch.

HTTP response status codes

Status codeDescription
201

Created

403

Forbidden

404

Resource not found

422

Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples

post/repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch}/rename
curl \ -X POST \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/BRANCH/rename \ -d '{"new_name":"my_renamed_branch"}'

Response

Status: 201
{ "name": "master", "commit": { "sha": "7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d", "node_id": "MDY6Q29tbWl0N2ZkMWE2MGIwMWY5MWIzMTRmNTk5NTVhNGU0ZDRlODBkOGVkZjExZA==", "commit": { "author": { "name": "The Octocat", "date": "2012-03-06T15:06:50-08:00", "email": "octocat@nowhere.com" }, "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d", "message": "Merge pull request #6 from Spaceghost/patch-1\n\nNew line at end of file.", "tree": { "sha": "b4eecafa9be2f2006ce1b709d6857b07069b4608", "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/trees/b4eecafa9be2f2006ce1b709d6857b07069b4608" }, "committer": { "name": "The Octocat", "date": "2012-03-06T15:06:50-08:00", "email": "octocat@nowhere.com" }, "verification": { "verified": false, "reason": "unsigned", "signature": null, "payload": null }, "comment_count": 0 }, "author": { "gravatar_id": "", "avatar_url": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/7ad39074b0584bc555d0417ae3e7d974?d=https://a248.e.akamai.net/assets.github.com%2Fimages%2Fgravatars%2Fgravatar-140.png", "url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat", "id": 583231, "login": "octocat", "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "site_admin": true }, "parents": [ { "sha": "553c2077f0edc3d5dc5d17262f6aa498e69d6f8e", "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/553c2077f0edc3d5dc5d17262f6aa498e69d6f8e" }, { "sha": "762941318ee16e59dabbacb1b4049eec22f0d303", "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/762941318ee16e59dabbacb1b4049eec22f0d303" } ], "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d", "committer": { "gravatar_id": "", "avatar_url": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/7ad39074b0584bc555d0417ae3e7d974?d=https://a248.e.akamai.net/assets.github.com%2Fimages%2Fgravatars%2Fgravatar-140.png", "url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat", "id": 583231, "login": "octocat", "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "site_admin": true }, "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/comments" }, "_links": { "html": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/tree/master", "self": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master" }, "protected": true, "protection": { "required_status_checks": { "enforcement_level": "non_admins", "contexts": [ "ci-test", "linter" ] } }, "protection_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/master/protection" }

Sync a fork branch with the upstream repository

Works with GitHub Apps

Sync a branch of a forked repository to keep it up-to-date with the upstream repository.

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
acceptstring

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
ownerstringRequired

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repostringRequired

The name of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
branchstringRequired

The name of the branch which should be updated to match upstream.

HTTP response status codes

Status codeDescription
200

The branch has been successfully synced with the upstream repository

409

The branch could not be synced because of a merge conflict

422

The branch could not be synced for some other reason

Code samples

post/repos/{owner}/{repo}/merge-upstream
curl \ -X POST \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/merge-upstream \ -d '{"branch":"main"}'

The branch has been successfully synced with the upstream repository

Status: 200
{ "message": "Successfully fetched and fast-forwarded from upstream defunkt:main", "merge_type": "fast-forward", "base_branch": "defunkt:main" }

Merge a branch

Works with GitHub Apps

Parameters

Headers
Name, Type, Description
acceptstring

Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path parameters
Name, Type, Description
ownerstringRequired

The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

repostringRequired

The name of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.

Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
basestringRequired

The name of the base branch that the head will be merged into.

headstringRequired

The head to merge. This can be a branch name or a commit SHA1.

commit_messagestring

Commit message to use for the merge commit. If omitted, a default message will be used.

HTTP response status codes

Status codeDescription
201

Successful Response (The resulting merge commit)

204

Response when already merged

403

Forbidden

404

Not Found when the base or head does not exist

409

Conflict when there is a merge conflict

422

Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples

post/repos/{owner}/{repo}/merges
curl \ -X POST \ -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \ http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/merges \ -d '{"base":"master","head":"cool_feature","commit_message":"Shipped cool_feature!"}'

Successful Response (The resulting merge commit)

Status: 201
{ "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "node_id": "MDY6Q29tbWl0NmRjYjA5YjViNTc4NzVmMzM0ZjYxYWViZWQ2OTVlMmU0MTkzZGI1ZQ==", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/comments", "commit": { "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "author": { "name": "Monalisa Octocat", "email": "mona@github.com", "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z" }, "committer": { "name": "Monalisa Octocat", "email": "mona@github.com", "date": "2011-04-14T16:00:49Z" }, "message": "Fix all the bugs", "tree": { "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/tree/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e" }, "comment_count": 0, "verification": { "verified": false, "reason": "unsigned", "signature": null, "payload": null } }, "author": { "login": "octocat", "id": 1, "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=", "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/octocat_happy.gif", "gravatar_id": "", "url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "site_admin": false }, "committer": { "login": "octocat", "id": 1, "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=", "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/octocat_happy.gif", "gravatar_id": "", "url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://api.github.com/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "site_admin": false }, "parents": [ { "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e" } ], "stats": { "additions": 104, "deletions": 4, "total": 108 }, "files": [ { "filename": "file1.txt", "additions": 10, "deletions": 2, "changes": 12, "status": "modified", "raw_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/raw/7ca483543807a51b6079e54ac4cc392bc29ae284/file1.txt", "blob_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/blob/7ca483543807a51b6079e54ac4cc392bc29ae284/file1.txt", "patch": "@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@\n....." } ] }