REST API endpoints for protected branches - GitHub Enterprise Server 3.17 Docs

Get branch protection

Protected branches are available in public repositories with GitHub Free and GitHub Free for organizations, and in public and private repositories with GitHub Pro, GitHub Team, GitHub Enterprise Cloud, and GitHub Enterprise Server. For more information, see GitHub's products in the GitHub Help documentation.

Fine-grained access tokens for "Get branch protection"

This endpoint works with the following fine-grained token types:

The fine-grained token must have the following permission set:

"Administration" repository permissions (read)

Parameters for "Get branch protection"

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.
`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 branch protection"

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

Code samples for "Get branch protection"

Request example

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

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/BRANCH/protection

Response

Status: 200

{
  "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection",
  "required_status_checks": {
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_status_checks",
    "contexts": [
      "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
    ],
    "contexts_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_status_checks/contexts",
    "enforcement_level": "non_admins"
  },
  "enforce_admins": {
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/enforce_admins",
    "enabled": true
  },
  "required_pull_request_reviews": {
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_pull_request_reviews",
    "dismissal_restrictions": {
      "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/dismissal_restrictions",
      "users_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/dismissal_restrictions/users",
      "teams_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/dismissal_restrictions/teams",
      "users": [
        {
          "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
        }
      ],
      "teams": [
        {
          "id": 1,
          "node_id": "MDQ6VGVhbTE=",
          "url": "https://HOSTNAME/teams/1",
          "html_url": "https://github.com/orgs/github/teams/justice-league",
          "name": "Justice League",
          "slug": "justice-league",
          "description": "A great team.",
          "privacy": "closed",
          "notification_setting": "notifications_enabled",
          "permission": "admin",
          "members_url": "https://HOSTNAME/teams/1/members{/member}",
          "repositories_url": "https://HOSTNAME/teams/1/repos",
          "parent": null
        }
      ],
      "apps": [
        {
          "id": 1,
          "slug": "octoapp",
          "node_id": "MDExOkludGVncmF0aW9uMQ==",
          "owner": {
            "login": "github",
            "id": 1,
            "node_id": "MDEyOk9yZ2FuaXphdGlvbjE=",
            "url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github",
            "repos_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/repos",
            "events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/events",
            "hooks_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/hooks",
            "issues_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/issues",
            "members_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/members{/member}",
            "public_members_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/public_members{/member}",
            "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/octocat_happy.gif",
            "description": "A great organization"
          },
          "name": "Octocat App",
          "description": "",
          "external_url": "https://example.com",
          "html_url": "https://github.com/apps/octoapp",
          "created_at": "2017-07-08T16:18:44-04:00",
          "updated_at": "2017-07-08T16:18:44-04:00",
          "permissions": {
            "metadata": "read",
            "contents": "read",
            "issues": "write",
            "single_file": "write"
          },
          "events": [
            "push",
            "pull_request"
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    "dismiss_stale_reviews": true,
    "require_code_owner_reviews": true,
    "required_approving_review_count": 2,
    "require_last_push_approval": true
  },
  "restrictions": {
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions",
    "users_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions/users",
    "teams_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions/teams",
    "apps_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions/apps",
    "users": [
      {
        "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
      }
    ],
    "teams": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "node_id": "MDQ6VGVhbTE=",
        "url": "https://HOSTNAME/teams/1",
        "html_url": "https://github.com/orgs/github/teams/justice-league",
        "name": "Justice League",
        "slug": "justice-league",
        "description": "A great team.",
        "privacy": "closed",
        "notification_setting": "notifications_enabled",
        "permission": "admin",
        "members_url": "https://HOSTNAME/teams/1/members{/member}",
        "repositories_url": "https://HOSTNAME/teams/1/repos",
        "parent": null
      }
    ],
    "apps": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "slug": "octoapp",
        "node_id": "MDExOkludGVncmF0aW9uMQ==",
        "owner": {
          "login": "github",
          "id": 1,
          "node_id": "MDEyOk9yZ2FuaXphdGlvbjE=",
          "url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github",
          "repos_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/repos",
          "events_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/events",
          "hooks_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/hooks",
          "issues_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/issues",
          "members_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/members{/member}",
          "public_members_url": "https://HOSTNAME/orgs/github/public_members{/member}",
          "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/octocat_happy.gif",
          "description": "A great organization"
        },
        "name": "Octocat App",
        "description": "",
        "external_url": "https://example.com",
        "html_url": "https://github.com/apps/octoapp",
        "created_at": "2017-07-08T16:18:44-04:00",
        "updated_at": "2017-07-08T16:18:44-04:00",
        "permissions": {
          "metadata": "read",
          "contents": "read",
          "issues": "write",
          "single_file": "write"
        },
        "events": [
          "push",
          "pull_request"
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "required_linear_history": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "allow_force_pushes": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "allow_deletions": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "required_conversation_resolution": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "lock_branch": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "allow_fork_syncing": {
    "enabled": true
  }
}

Update branch protection

Protecting a branch requires admin or owner permissions to the repository.

Note

Passing new arrays of users and teams replaces their previous values.

Note

The list of users, apps, and teams in total is limited to 100 items.

Fine-grained access tokens for "Update branch protection"

This endpoint works with the following fine-grained token types:

The fine-grained token must have the following permission set:

"Administration" repository permissions (write)

Parameters for "Update branch protection"

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

Name, Type, Description

required_status_checks object or null Required

Require status checks to pass before merging. Set to null to disable.

Properties of required_status_checks

Name, Type, Description

strict boolean Required

Require branches to be up to date before merging.

contexts array of strings Required

Closing down notice: The list of status checks to require in order to merge into this branch. If any of these checks have recently been set by a particular GitHub App, they will be required to come from that app in future for the branch to merge. Use checks instead of contexts for more fine-grained control.

checks array of objects

The list of status checks to require in order to merge into this branch.

Properties of checks

Name, Type, Description
`context` string Required The name of the required check
`app_id` integer The ID of the GitHub App that must provide this check. Omit this field to automatically select the GitHub App that has recently provided this check, or any app if it was not set by a GitHub App. Pass -1 to explicitly allow any app to set the status.

enforce_admins boolean or null Required

Enforce all configured restrictions for administrators. Set to true to enforce required status checks for repository administrators. Set to null to disable.

required_pull_request_reviews object or null Required

Require at least one approving review on a pull request, before merging. Set to null to disable.

Properties of required_pull_request_reviews

Name, Type, Description

dismissal_restrictions object

Specify which users, teams, and apps can dismiss pull request reviews. Pass an empty dismissal_restrictions object to disable. User and team dismissal_restrictions are only available for organization-owned repositories. Omit this parameter for personal repositories.

Properties of dismissal_restrictions

Name, Type, Description
`users` array of strings The list of user `login`s with dismissal access
`teams` array of strings The list of team `slug`s with dismissal access
`apps` array of strings The list of app `slug`s with dismissal access

dismiss_stale_reviews boolean

Set to true if you want to automatically dismiss approving reviews when someone pushes a new commit.

require_code_owner_reviews boolean

Blocks merging pull requests until code owners review them.

required_approving_review_count integer

Specify the number of reviewers required to approve pull requests. Use a number between 1 and 6 or 0 to not require reviewers.

require_last_push_approval boolean

Whether the most recent push must be approved by someone other than the person who pushed it. Default: false.

Default: false

bypass_pull_request_allowances object

Allow specific users, teams, or apps to bypass pull request requirements.

Properties of bypass_pull_request_allowances

Name, Type, Description
`users` array of strings The list of user `login`s allowed to bypass pull request requirements.
`teams` array of strings The list of team `slug`s allowed to bypass pull request requirements.
`apps` array of strings The list of app `slug`s allowed to bypass pull request requirements.

restrictions object or null Required

Restrict who can push to the protected branch. User, app, and team restrictions are only available for organization-owned repositories. Set to null to disable.

Properties of restrictions

Name, Type, Description
`users` array of strings Required The list of user `login`s with push access
`teams` array of strings Required The list of team `slug`s with push access
`apps` array of strings The list of app `slug`s with push access

required_linear_history boolean

Enforces a linear commit Git history, which prevents anyone from pushing merge commits to a branch. Set to true to enforce a linear commit history. Set to false to disable a linear commit Git history. Your repository must allow squash merging or rebase merging before you can enable a linear commit history. Default: false. For more information, see "Requiring a linear commit history" in the GitHub Help documentation.

allow_force_pushes boolean or null

Permits force pushes to the protected branch by anyone with write access to the repository. Set to true to allow force pushes. Set to false or null to block force pushes. Default: false. For more information, see "Enabling force pushes to a protected branch" in the GitHub Help documentation."

allow_deletions boolean

Allows deletion of the protected branch by anyone with write access to the repository. Set to false to prevent deletion of the protected branch. Default: false. For more information, see "Enabling force pushes to a protected branch" in the GitHub Help documentation.

block_creations boolean

If set to true, the restrictions branch protection settings which limits who can push will also block pushes which create new branches, unless the push is initiated by a user, team, or app which has the ability to push. Set to true to restrict new branch creation. Default: false.

required_conversation_resolution boolean

Requires all conversations on code to be resolved before a pull request can be merged into a branch that matches this rule. Set to false to disable. Default: false.

lock_branch boolean

Whether to set the branch as read-only. If this is true, users will not be able to push to the branch. Default: false.

Default: false

allow_fork_syncing boolean

Whether users can pull changes from upstream when the branch is locked. Set to true to allow fork syncing. Set to false to prevent fork syncing. Default: false.

Default: false

HTTP response status codes for "Update branch protection"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK
`403`	Forbidden
`404`	Resource not found
`422`	Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code samples for "Update branch protection"

Request example

put/repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch}/protection

curl -L \
  -X PUT \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/BRANCH/protection \
  -d '{"required_status_checks":{"strict":true,"contexts":["continuous-integration/travis-ci"]},"enforce_admins":true,"required_pull_request_reviews":{"dismissal_restrictions":{"users":["octocat"],"teams":["justice-league"]},"dismiss_stale_reviews":true,"require_code_owner_reviews":true,"required_approving_review_count":2,"require_last_push_approval":true,"bypass_pull_request_allowances":{"users":["octocat"],"teams":["justice-league"]}},"restrictions":{"users":["octocat"],"teams":["justice-league"],"apps":["super-ci"]},"required_linear_history":true,"allow_force_pushes":true,"allow_deletions":true,"block_creations":true,"required_conversation_resolution":true,"lock_branch":true,"allow_fork_syncing":true}'

Response

Status: 200

{
  "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection",
  "required_status_checks": {
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/required_status_checks",
    "strict": true,
    "contexts": [
      "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
    ],
    "contexts_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/required_status_checks/contexts",
    "checks": [
      {
        "context": "continuous-integration/travis-ci",
        "app_id": null
      }
    ]
  },
  "restrictions": {
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/restrictions",
    "users_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/restrictions/users",
    "teams_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/restrictions/teams",
    "apps_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/restrictions/apps",
    "users": [],
    "teams": [],
    "apps": []
  },
  "required_pull_request_reviews": {
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/required_pull_request_reviews",
    "dismiss_stale_reviews": true,
    "require_code_owner_reviews": true,
    "required_approving_review_count": 2,
    "require_last_push_approval": true,
    "dismissal_restrictions": {
      "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/dismissal_restrictions",
      "users_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/dismissal_restrictions/users",
      "teams_url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/dismissal_restrictions/teams",
      "users": [],
      "teams": [],
      "apps": []
    }
  },
  "required_signatures": {
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/required_signatures",
    "enabled": false
  },
  "enforce_admins": {
    "url": "https://HOSTNAME/repos/octocat/hello-world/branches/main/protection/enforce_admins",
    "enabled": true
  },
  "required_linear_history": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "allow_force_pushes": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "allow_deletions": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "block_creations": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "required_conversation_resolution": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "lock_branch": {
    "enabled": true
  },
  "allow_fork_syncing": {
    "enabled": true
  }
}

Delete branch protection

Fine-grained access tokens for "Delete branch protection"

This endpoint works with the following fine-grained token types:

The fine-grained token must have the following permission set:

"Administration" repository permissions (write)

Parameters for "Delete branch protection"

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.
`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 "Delete branch protection"

Status code	Description
`204`	No Content
`403`	Forbidden

Code samples for "Delete branch protection"

Request example

delete/repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch}/protection

curl -L \
  -X DELETE \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/BRANCH/protection

Response

Status: 204

Get admin branch protection

Fine-grained access tokens for "Get admin branch protection"

This endpoint works with the following fine-grained token types:

The fine-grained token must have the following permission set:

"Administration" repository permissions (read)

Parameters for "Get admin branch protection"

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.
`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 admin branch protection"

Status code	Description
`200`	OK

Code samples for "Get admin branch protection"

Request example

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

curl -L \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR-TOKEN>" \
  -H "X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2022-11-28" \
  http(s)://HOSTNAME/api/v3/repos/OWNER/REPO/branches/BRANCH/protection/enforce_admins

Response

Status: 200