This version of GitHub Enterprise Server was discontinued on 2024-01-04. 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 Server. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

After a site administrator upgrades your Enterprise Server instance to Enterprise Server 3.9 or later, the REST API will be versioned. To learn how to find your instance's version, see "About versions of GitHub Docs". For more information, see "About API versioning."

Branches

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

List branches

Works with GitHub Apps

Parameters for "List branches"

Headers
accept string

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

Path parameters
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.

Query parameters
protected boolean

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

per_page integer

The number of results per page (max 100).

Default: 30

page integer

Page number of the results to fetch.

Default: 1

HTTP response status codes for "List branches"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

404

Resource not found

Code samples for "List branches"

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches
curl -L \ -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://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/c5b97d5ae6c19d5c5df71a34c7fbeeda2479ccbc" }, "protected": true, "protection": { "required_status_checks": { "enforcement_level": "non_admins", "contexts": [ "ci-test", "linter" ] } }, "protection_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/master/protection" } ]

Get a branch

Works with GitHub Apps

Parameters for "Get a branch"

Headers
accept string

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

Path parameters
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.

branch string Required

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

HTTP response status codes for "Get a branch"

Status codeDescription
200

OK

301

Moved permanently

404

Resource not found

Code samples for "Get a branch"

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch}
curl -L \ -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://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/trees/b4eecafa9be2f2006ce1b709d6857b07069b4608" }, "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d", "comment_count": 77, "verification": { "verified": false, "reason": "unsigned", "signature": null, "payload": null } }, "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d", "comments_url": "https://HOSTNAME/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://HOSTNAME/users/octocat", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/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://HOSTNAME/users/octocat", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "site_admin": false }, "parents": [ { "sha": "553c2077f0edc3d5dc5d17262f6aa498e69d6f8e", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/553c2077f0edc3d5dc5d17262f6aa498e69d6f8e", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/553c2077f0edc3d5dc5d17262f6aa498e69d6f8e" }, { "sha": "762941318ee16e59dabbacb1b4049eec22f0d303", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/762941318ee16e59dabbacb1b4049eec22f0d303", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/762941318ee16e59dabbacb1b4049eec22f0d303" } ] }, "_links": { "self": "https://HOSTNAME/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://HOSTNAME/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 for "Rename a branch"

Headers
accept string

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

Path parameters
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.

branch string Required

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

Body parameters
new_name string Required

The new name of the branch.

HTTP response status codes for "Rename a branch"

Status codeDescription
201

Created

403

Forbidden

404

Resource not found

422

Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Rename a branch"

post/repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch}/rename
curl -L \ -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://HOSTNAME/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://HOSTNAME/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://HOSTNAME/users/octocat", "id": 583231, "login": "octocat", "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "site_admin": true }, "parents": [ { "sha": "553c2077f0edc3d5dc5d17262f6aa498e69d6f8e", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/553c2077f0edc3d5dc5d17262f6aa498e69d6f8e" }, { "sha": "762941318ee16e59dabbacb1b4049eec22f0d303", "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/762941318ee16e59dabbacb1b4049eec22f0d303" } ], "url": "https://HOSTNAME/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://HOSTNAME/users/octocat", "id": 583231, "login": "octocat", "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "site_admin": true }, "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "comments_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/comments" }, "_links": { "html": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/tree/master", "self": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master" }, "protected": true, "protection": { "required_status_checks": { "enforcement_level": "non_admins", "contexts": [ "ci-test", "linter" ] } }, "protection_url": "https://HOSTNAME/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 for "Sync a fork branch with the upstream repository"

Headers
accept string

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

Path parameters
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.

Body parameters
branch string Required

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

HTTP response status codes for "Sync a fork branch with the upstream repository"

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 for "Sync a fork branch with the upstream repository"

post/repos/{owner}/{repo}/merge-upstream
curl -L \ -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 for "Merge a branch"

Headers
accept string

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

Path parameters
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.

Body parameters
base string Required

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

head string Required

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

commit_message string

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

HTTP response status codes for "Merge a branch"

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 for "Merge a branch"

post/repos/{owner}/{repo}/merges
curl -L \ -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://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "node_id": "MDY6Q29tbWl0NmRjYjA5YjViNTc4NzVmMzM0ZjYxYWViZWQ2OTVlMmU0MTkzZGI1ZQ==", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e", "comments_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/comments", "commit": { "url": "https://HOSTNAME/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://HOSTNAME/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://HOSTNAME/users/octocat", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/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://HOSTNAME/users/octocat", "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat", "followers_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/followers", "following_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/following{/other_user}", "gists_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/gists{/gist_id}", "starred_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/starred{/owner}{/repo}", "subscriptions_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/subscriptions", "organizations_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/orgs", "repos_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/repos", "events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/events{/privacy}", "received_events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/users/octocat/received_events", "type": "User", "site_admin": false }, "parents": [ { "url": "https://HOSTNAME/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....." } ] }