Branches - GitHub Docs

The Branches API allows you to modify branches and their protection settings.

List branches

get /repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Description
`accept`	string	header	Setting to`application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
`owner`	string	path
`repo`	string	path
`protected`	boolean	query	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	query	Results per page (max 100) Default: `30`
`page`	integer	query	Page number of the results to fetch. Default: `1`

Code samples

Example

Shell

curl \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/branches

JavaScript @octokit/core.js

await octokit.request('GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches', {
  owner: 'OWNER',
  repo: 'REPO'
})

GitHub CLI gh api

gh api \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  /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"
  }
]

Status codes

HTTP Status Code	Description
`200`	OK
`404`	Resource not found

Notes

Works with GitHub Apps

Get a branch

get /repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch}

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Description
`accept`	string	header	Setting to`application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
`owner`	string	path
`repo`	string	path
`branch`	string	path	The name of the branch.

Status codes

HTTP Status Code	Description
`200`	OK
`301`	Moved permanently
`404`	Resource not found

Notes

Works with GitHub Apps

Rename a branch

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.

post /repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch}/rename

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Description
`accept`	string	header	Setting to`application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
`owner`	string	path
`repo`	string	path
`branch`	string	path	The name of the branch.
`new_name`	string	body	Required. The new name of the branch.

Code samples

Example

Shell

curl \
  -X POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/BRANCH/rename \
  -d '{"new_name":"my_renamed_branch"}'

JavaScript @octokit/core.js

await octokit.request('POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch}/rename', {
  owner: 'OWNER',
  repo: 'REPO',
  branch: 'BRANCH',
  new_name: 'my_renamed_branch'
})

GitHub CLI gh api

gh api \
  --method POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  /repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/BRANCH/rename \
  -f 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"
}

Status codes

HTTP Status Code	Description
`201`	Created
`403`	Forbidden
`404`	Resource not found
`422`	Validation failed

Notes

Works with GitHub Apps

Sync a fork branch with the upstream repository

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

post /repos/{owner}/{repo}/merge-upstream

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Description
`accept`	string	header	Setting to`application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
`owner`	string	path
`repo`	string	path
`branch`	string	body	Required. The name of the branch which should be updated to match upstream.

Code samples

Example

Shell

curl \
  -X POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/merge-upstream \
  -d '{"branch":"main"}'

JavaScript @octokit/core.js

await octokit.request('POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/merge-upstream', {
  owner: 'OWNER',
  repo: 'REPO',
  branch: 'main'
})

GitHub CLI gh api

gh api \
  --method POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  /repos/OWNER/REPO/merge-upstream \
  -f 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"
}

Status codes

HTTP Status Code	Description
`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

Notes

Works with GitHub Apps

Merge a branch

post /repos/{owner}/{repo}/merges

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Description
`accept`	string	header	Setting to`application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
`owner`	string	path
`repo`	string	path
`base`	string	body	Required. The name of the base branch that the head will be merged into.
`head`	string	body	Required. The head to merge. This can be a branch name or a commit SHA1.
`commit_message`	string	body	Commit message to use for the merge commit. If omitted, a default message will be used.

Code samples

Example

Shell

curl \
  -X POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/merges \
  -d '{"base":"master","head":"cool_feature","commit_message":"Shipped cool_feature!"}'

JavaScript @octokit/core.js

await octokit.request('POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/merges', {
  owner: 'OWNER',
  repo: 'REPO',
  base: 'master',
  head: 'cool_feature',
  commit_message: 'Shipped cool_feature!'
})

GitHub CLI gh api

gh api \
  --method POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  /repos/OWNER/REPO/merges \
  -f base='master' -f head='cool_feature' -f 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....."
    }
  ]
}

Status codes

HTTP Status Code	Description
`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

Notes

Works with GitHub Apps