Git references

Use the REST API to interact with references in your Git database on GitHub Enterprise Server

About Git references

A Git reference (git ref) is a file that contains a Git commit SHA-1 hash. When referring to a Git commit, you can use the Git reference, which is an easy-to-remember name, rather than the hash. The Git reference can be rewritten to point to a new commit. A branch is a Git reference that stores the new Git commit hash. These endpoints allow you to read and write references to your Git database on GitHub Enterprise Server.

List matching references

Works with GitHub Apps

Returns an array of references from your Git database that match the supplied name. The :ref in the URL must be formatted as heads/<branch name> for branches and tags/<tag name> for tags. If the :ref doesn't exist in the repository, but existing refs start with :ref, they will be returned as an array.

When you use this endpoint without providing a :ref, it will return an array of all the references from your Git database, including notes and stashes if they exist on the server. Anything in the namespace is returned, not just heads and tags.

Note: You need to explicitly request a pull request to trigger a test merge commit, which checks the mergeability of pull requests. For more information, see "Checking mergeability of pull requests".

If you request matching references for a branch named feature but the branch feature doesn't exist, the response can still include other matching head refs that start with the word feature, such as featureA and featureB.

Parameters for "List matching references"

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.
`ref` string Required The commit reference. Can be a commit SHA, branch name (`heads/BRANCH_NAME`), or tag name (`tags/TAG_NAME`). For more information, see "Git References" in the Git documentation.

HTTP response status codes for "List matching references"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK

Code samples for "List matching references"

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/matching-refs/{ref}

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/matching-refs/REF

Response

Status: 200

[
  {
    "ref": "refs/heads/feature-a",
    "node_id": "MDM6UmVmcmVmcy9oZWFkcy9mZWF0dXJlLWE=",
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/refs/heads/feature-a",
    "object": {
      "type": "commit",
      "sha": "aa218f56b14c9653891f9e74264a383fa43fefbd",
      "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/aa218f56b14c9653891f9e74264a383fa43fefbd"
    }
  },
  {
    "ref": "refs/heads/feature-b",
    "node_id": "MDM6UmVmcmVmcy9oZWFkcy9mZWF0dXJlLWI=",
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/refs/heads/feature-b",
    "object": {
      "type": "commit",
      "sha": "612077ae6dffb4d2fbd8ce0cccaa58893b07b5ac",
      "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/612077ae6dffb4d2fbd8ce0cccaa58893b07b5ac"
    }
  }
]

Get a reference

Works with GitHub Apps

Returns a single reference from your Git database. The :ref in the URL must be formatted as heads/<branch name> for branches and tags/<tag name> for tags. If the :ref doesn't match an existing ref, a 404 is returned.

Note: You need to explicitly request a pull request to trigger a test merge commit, which checks the mergeability of pull requests. For more information, see "Checking mergeability of pull requests".

Parameters for "Get a reference"

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.
`ref` string Required The commit reference. Can be a commit SHA, branch name (`heads/BRANCH_NAME`), or tag name (`tags/TAG_NAME`). For more information, see "Git References" in the Git documentation.

HTTP response status codes for "Get a reference"

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

Code samples for "Get a reference"

get/repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/ref/{ref}

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/ref/REF

Response

Status: 200

{
  "ref": "refs/heads/featureA",
  "node_id": "MDM6UmVmcmVmcy9oZWFkcy9mZWF0dXJlQQ==",
  "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/refs/heads/featureA",
  "object": {
    "type": "commit",
    "sha": "aa218f56b14c9653891f9e74264a383fa43fefbd",
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/aa218f56b14c9653891f9e74264a383fa43fefbd"
  }
}

Create a reference

Works with GitHub Apps

Creates a reference for your repository. You are unable to create new references for empty repositories, even if the commit SHA-1 hash used exists. Empty repositories are repositories without branches.

Parameters for "Create a reference"

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.

Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
`ref` string Required The name of the fully qualified reference (ie: `refs/heads/master`). If it doesn't start with 'refs' and have at least two slashes, it will be rejected.
`sha` string Required The SHA1 value for this reference.

HTTP response status codes for "Create a reference"

Status code	Description
`201`	Created
`422`	Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Create a reference"

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

curl -L \
  -X POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/refs \
  -d '{"ref":"refs/heads/featureA","sha":"aa218f56b14c9653891f9e74264a383fa43fefbd"}'

Response

Status: 201

{
  "ref": "refs/heads/featureA",
  "node_id": "MDM6UmVmcmVmcy9oZWFkcy9mZWF0dXJlQQ==",
  "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/refs/heads/featureA",
  "object": {
    "type": "commit",
    "sha": "aa218f56b14c9653891f9e74264a383fa43fefbd",
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/aa218f56b14c9653891f9e74264a383fa43fefbd"
  }
}

Update a reference

Works with GitHub Apps

Parameters for "Update a reference"

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.
`ref` string Required The name of the reference to update (for example, `heads/featureA`). Can be a branch name (`heads/BRANCH_NAME`) or tag name (`tags/TAG_NAME`). For more information, see "Git References" in the Git documentation.

Body parameters
Name, Type, Description
`sha` string Required The SHA1 value to set this reference to
`force` boolean Indicates whether to force the update or to make sure the update is a fast-forward update. Leaving this out or setting it to `false` will make sure you're not overwriting work. Default: `false`

HTTP response status codes for "Update a reference"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK
`422`	Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Update a reference"

patch/repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/refs/{ref}

curl -L \
  -X PATCH \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/refs/REF \
  -d '{"sha":"aa218f56b14c9653891f9e74264a383fa43fefbd","force":true}'

Response

Status: 200

{
  "ref": "refs/heads/featureA",
  "node_id": "MDM6UmVmcmVmcy9oZWFkcy9mZWF0dXJlQQ==",
  "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/refs/heads/featureA",
  "object": {
    "type": "commit",
    "sha": "aa218f56b14c9653891f9e74264a383fa43fefbd",
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits/aa218f56b14c9653891f9e74264a383fa43fefbd"
  }
}

Delete a reference

Works with GitHub Apps

Parameters for "Delete a reference"

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.
`ref` string Required The commit reference. Can be a commit SHA, branch name (`heads/BRANCH_NAME`), or tag name (`tags/TAG_NAME`). For more information, see "Git References" in the Git documentation.

HTTP response status codes for "Delete a reference"

Status code	Description
`204`	No Content
`422`	Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Delete a reference"

delete/repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/refs/{ref}

curl -L \
  -X DELETE \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/git/refs/REF

Response

Status: 204