Commit statuses - GitHub Docs

The status API allows external services to mark commits with an error, failure, pending, or success state, which is then reflected in pull requests involving those commits.

Statuses can also include an optional description and target_url, and we highly recommend providing them as they make statuses much more useful in the GitHub UI.

As an example, one common use is for continuous integration services to mark commits as passing or failing builds using status. The target_url would be the full URL to the build output, and the description would be the high level summary of what happened with the build.

Statuses can include a context to indicate what service is providing that status. For example, you may have your continuous integration service push statuses with a context of ci, and a security audit tool push statuses with a context of security. You can then use the Get the combined status for a specific reference to retrieve the whole status for a commit.

Note that the repo:status OAuth scope grants targeted access to statuses without also granting access to repository code, while the repo scope grants permission to code as well as statuses.

If you are developing a GitHub App and want to provide more detailed information about an external service, you may want to use the Checks API.

Get the combined status for a specific reference

Users with pull access in a repository can access a combined view of commit statuses for a given ref. The ref can be a SHA, a branch name, or a tag name.

Additionally, a combined state is returned. The state is one of:

failure if any of the contexts report as error or failure
pending if there are no statuses or a context is pending
success if the latest status for all contexts is success

get /repos/{owner}/{repo}/commits/{ref}/status

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Description
`accept`	string	header	Setting to`application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
`owner`	string	path
`repo`	string	path
`ref`	string	path	ref parameter
`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/commits/REF/status

JavaScript @octokit/core.js

await octokit.request('GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/commits/{ref}/status', {
  owner: 'OWNER',
  repo: 'REPO',
  ref: 'REF'
})

GitHub CLI gh api

gh api \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  /repos/OWNER/REPO/commits/REF/status

Response

Status: 200

{
  "state": "success",
  "statuses": [
    {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/statuses/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/hubot_happy.gif",
      "id": 1,
      "node_id": "MDY6U3RhdHVzMQ==",
      "state": "success",
      "description": "Build has completed successfully",
      "target_url": "https://ci.example.com/1000/output",
      "context": "continuous-integration/jenkins",
      "created_at": "2012-07-20T01:19:13Z",
      "updated_at": "2012-07-20T01:19:13Z"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/statuses/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/other_user_happy.gif",
      "id": 2,
      "node_id": "MDY6U3RhdHVzMg==",
      "state": "success",
      "description": "Testing has completed successfully",
      "target_url": "https://ci.example.com/2000/output",
      "context": "security/brakeman",
      "created_at": "2012-08-20T01:19:13Z",
      "updated_at": "2012-08-20T01:19:13Z"
    }
  ],
  "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
  "total_count": 2,
  "repository": {
    "id": 1296269,
    "node_id": "MDEwOlJlcG9zaXRvcnkxMjk2MjY5",
    "name": "Hello-World",
    "full_name": "octocat/Hello-World",
    "owner": {
      "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
    },
    "private": false,
    "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World",
    "description": "This your first repo!",
    "fork": false,
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World",
    "archive_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/{archive_format}{/ref}",
    "assignees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/assignees{/user}",
    "blobs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/blobs{/sha}",
    "branches_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches{/branch}",
    "collaborators_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/collaborators{/collaborator}",
    "comments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/comments{/number}",
    "commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits{/sha}",
    "compare_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/compare/{base}...{head}",
    "contents_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/contents/{+path}",
    "contributors_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/contributors",
    "deployments_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/deployments",
    "downloads_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/downloads",
    "events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/events",
    "forks_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/forks",
    "git_commits_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/commits{/sha}",
    "git_refs_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/refs{/sha}",
    "git_tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/tags{/sha}",
    "git_url": "git:github.com/octocat/Hello-World.git",
    "issue_comment_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/issues/comments{/number}",
    "issue_events_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/issues/events{/number}",
    "issues_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/issues{/number}",
    "keys_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/keys{/key_id}",
    "labels_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/labels{/name}",
    "languages_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/languages",
    "merges_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/merges",
    "milestones_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/milestones{/number}",
    "notifications_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/notifications{?since,all,participating}",
    "pulls_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/pulls{/number}",
    "releases_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/releases{/id}",
    "ssh_url": "git@github.com:octocat/Hello-World.git",
    "stargazers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/stargazers",
    "statuses_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/statuses/{sha}",
    "subscribers_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/subscribers",
    "subscription_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/subscription",
    "tags_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/tags",
    "teams_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/teams",
    "trees_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/git/trees{/sha}",
    "hooks_url": "http://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/hooks"
  },
  "commit_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/status"
}

Status codes

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

Notes

Works with GitHub Apps

List commit statuses for a reference

Users with pull access in a repository can view commit statuses for a given ref. The ref can be a SHA, a branch name, or a tag name. Statuses are returned in reverse chronological order. The first status in the list will be the latest one.

This resource is also available via a legacy route: GET /repos/:owner/:repo/statuses/:ref.

get /repos/{owner}/{repo}/commits/{ref}/statuses

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Description
`accept`	string	header	Setting to`application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
`owner`	string	path
`repo`	string	path
`ref`	string	path	ref parameter
`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/commits/REF/statuses

JavaScript @octokit/core.js

await octokit.request('GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/commits/{ref}/statuses', {
  owner: 'OWNER',
  repo: 'REPO',
  ref: 'REF'
})

GitHub CLI gh api

gh api \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  /repos/OWNER/REPO/commits/REF/statuses

Response

Status: 200

[
  {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/statuses/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
    "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/hubot_happy.gif",
    "id": 1,
    "node_id": "MDY6U3RhdHVzMQ==",
    "state": "success",
    "description": "Build has completed successfully",
    "target_url": "https://ci.example.com/1000/output",
    "context": "continuous-integration/jenkins",
    "created_at": "2012-07-20T01:19:13Z",
    "updated_at": "2012-07-20T01:19:13Z",
    "creator": {
      "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
    }
  }
]

Status codes

HTTP Status Code	Description
`200`	OK
`301`	Moved permanently

Notes

Works with GitHub Apps

Create a commit status

Users with push access in a repository can create commit statuses for a given SHA.

Note: there is a limit of 1000 statuses per sha and context within a repository. Attempts to create more than 1000 statuses will result in a validation error.

post /repos/{owner}/{repo}/statuses/{sha}

Parameters

Name	Type	In	Description
`accept`	string	header	Setting to`application/vnd.github.v3+json` is recommended.
`owner`	string	path
`repo`	string	path
`sha`	string	path
`state`	string	body	Required. The state of the status. Can be one of `error`, `failure`, `pending`, or `success`.
`target_url`	string	body	The target URL to associate with this status. This URL will be linked from the GitHub UI to allow users to easily see the source of the status. For example, if your continuous integration system is posting build status, you would want to provide the deep link for the build output for this specific SHA: `http://ci.example.com/user/repo/build/sha`
`description`	string	body	A short description of the status.
`context`	string	body	A string label to differentiate this status from the status of other systems. This field is case-insensitive. Default: `default`

Code samples

Example

Shell

curl \
  -X POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://api.github.com/repos/OWNER/REPO/statuses/SHA \
  -d '{"state":"success","target_url":"https://example.com/build/status","description":"The build succeeded!","context":"continuous-integration/jenkins"}'

JavaScript @octokit/core.js

await octokit.request('POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/statuses/{sha}', {
  owner: 'OWNER',
  repo: 'REPO',
  sha: 'SHA',
  state: 'success',
  target_url: 'https://example.com/build/status',
  description: 'The build succeeded!',
  context: 'continuous-integration/jenkins'
})

GitHub CLI gh api

gh api \
  --method POST \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  /repos/OWNER/REPO/statuses/SHA \
  -f state='success' -f target_url='https://example.com/build/status' -f description='The build succeeded!' -f context='continuous-integration/jenkins'

Response

Status: 201

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/statuses/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
  "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/hubot_happy.gif",
  "id": 1,
  "node_id": "MDY6U3RhdHVzMQ==",
  "state": "success",
  "description": "Build has completed successfully",
  "target_url": "https://ci.example.com/1000/output",
  "context": "continuous-integration/jenkins",
  "created_at": "2012-07-20T01:19:13Z",
  "updated_at": "2012-07-20T01:19:13Z",
  "creator": {
    "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
  }
}

Status codes

HTTP Status Code	Description
`201`	Created

Notes

Works with GitHub Apps