Branches

The Protected Branch API is currently available for developers to preview. During the preview period, the API may change without advance notice. Please see the blog post for full details.

To access the API during the preview period, you must provide a custom media type in the Accept header:

  application/vnd.github.loki-preview+json

List Branches 

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/branches

Parameters

Name Type Description
protected boolean Set to true to only return protected branches

The Protected Branch API is currently available for developers to preview. During the preview period, the API may change without advance notice. Please see the blog post for full details.

To access the API during the preview period, you must provide a custom media type in the Accept header:

  application/vnd.github.loki-preview+json

The protected key will only be present in branch payloads if this header is passed.

Response

Status: 200 OK
Link: <https://api.github.com/resource?page=2>; rel="next",
      <https://api.github.com/resource?page=5>; rel="last"

[
  {
    "name": "master",
    "commit": {
      "sha": "6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/c5b97d5ae6c19d5c5df71a34c7fbeeda2479ccbc"
    },
    "protected": true,
    "protection_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection"
  }
]

Get Branch 

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch

Response

The Protected Branch API is currently available for developers to preview. During the preview period, the API may change without advance notice. Please see the blog post for full details.

To access the API during the preview period, you must provide a custom media type in the Accept header:

  application/vnd.github.loki-preview+json

The protected key will only be present in branch payloads if this header is passed.

Status: 200 OK

{
  "name": "master",
  "commit": {
    "sha": "7fd1a60b01f91b314f59955a4e4d4e80d8edf11d",
    "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"
      }
    },
    "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"
    },
    "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"
    }
  },
  "_links": {
    "html": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/tree/master",
    "self": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master"
  },
  "protected": true,
  "protection_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection"
}

Get branch protection

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection

Status: 200 OK

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection",
  "required_status_checks": {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_status_checks",
    "strict": true,
    "contexts": [
      "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
    ],
    "contexts_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_status_checks/contexts"
  },
  "restrictions": {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions",
    "users_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions/users",
    "teams_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions/teams",
    "users": [
      {
        "login": "octocat",
        "id": 1,
        "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
      }
    ],
    "teams": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1",
        "name": "Justice League",
        "slug": "justice-league",
        "description": "A great team.",
        "privacy": "closed",
        "permission": "admin",
        "members_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/members{/member}",
        "repositories_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/repos"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Update branch protection

Protecting a branch requires admin access.

PUT /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection

Parameters

The required_status_checks object must have the following keys:

Name Type Description
strict boolean Required. Require branches to be up to date before merging.
contexts array Required. The list of status checks to require in order to merge into this branch

The restrictions object must have the following keys:

Name Type Description
users array The list of user logins with push access
teams array The list of team slugs with push access
  • Teams and users restrictions are only available for organization-owned repositories.
  • The list of users and teams in total is limited to 100 items.

Example

{
  "required_status_checks": {
    "strict": true,
    "contexts": [
      "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
    ]
  },
  "enforce_admins": true,
  "restrictions": {
    "users": [
      "octocat"
    ],
    "teams": [
      "justice-league"
    ]
  }
}

Response

Status: 200 OK

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection",
  "required_status_checks": {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_status_checks",
    "strict": true,
    "contexts": [
      "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
    ],
    "contexts_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_status_checks/contexts"
  },
  "restrictions": {
    "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions",
    "users_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions/users",
    "teams_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions/teams",
    "users": [
      {
        "login": "octocat",
        "id": 1,
        "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
      }
    ],
    "teams": [
      {
        "id": 1,
        "url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1",
        "name": "Justice League",
        "slug": "justice-league",
        "description": "A great team.",
        "privacy": "closed",
        "permission": "admin",
        "members_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/members{/member}",
        "repositories_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/repos"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Remove branch protection

DELETE /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection

Status: 204 No Content

Get required status checks of protected branch 

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/required_status_checks

Status: 200 OK

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_status_checks",
  "strict": true,
  "contexts": [
    "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
  ],
  "contexts_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_status_checks/contexts"
}

Update required status checks of protected branch

Updating required status checks requires admin access and branch protection to be enabled.

PATCH /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/required_status_checks

Parameters

The object passed can have the following keys:

Name Type Description
strict boolean Require branches to be up to date before merging.
contexts array The list of status checks to require in order to merge into this branch

Example

{
  "strict": true,
  "contexts": [
    "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
  ]
}

Response

Status: 200 OK

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_status_checks",
  "strict": true,
  "contexts": [
    "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
  ],
  "contexts_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_status_checks/contexts"
}

Remove required status checks of protected branch

DELETE /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/required_status_checks

Status: 204 No Content

List required status checks contexts of protected branch 

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/required_status_checks/contexts

Status: 200 OK

[
  "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
]

Replace required status checks contexts of protected branch

PUT /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/required_status_checks/contexts

Example

[
  "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
]

Response

Status: 200 OK

[
  "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
]

Add required status checks contexts of protected branch

POST /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/required_status_checks/contexts

Example

[
  "continuous-integration/jenkins"
]

Response

Status: 200 OK

[
  "continuous-integration/travis-ci",
  "continuous-integration/jenkins"
]

Remove required status checks contexts of protected branch

DELETE /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/required_status_checks/contexts

Example

[
  "continuous-integration/jenkins"
]

Response

Status: 200 OK

[
  "continuous-integration/travis-ci"
]

Get restrictions of protected branch

Teams and users restrictions are only available for organization-owned repositories.

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/restrictions

Status: 200 OK

{
  "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions",
  "users_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions/users",
  "teams_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/restrictions/teams",
  "users": [
    {
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "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
    }
  ],
  "teams": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1",
      "name": "Justice League",
      "slug": "justice-league",
      "description": "A great team.",
      "privacy": "closed",
      "permission": "admin",
      "members_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/members{/member}",
      "repositories_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/repos"
    }
  ]
}

Remove restrictions of protected branch

DELETE /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/restrictions

Status: 204 No Content

List team restrictions of protected branch

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/restrictions/teams

Status: 200 OK

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1",
    "name": "Justice League",
    "slug": "justice-league",
    "description": "A great team.",
    "privacy": "closed",
    "permission": "admin",
    "members_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/members{/member}",
    "repositories_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/repos"
  }
]

Replace team restrictions of protected branch

PUT /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/restrictions/teams

Body parameters

Pass the list of team slugs with push access.

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

Example

[
  "justice-league"
]

Response

Status: 200 OK

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1",
    "name": "Justice League",
    "slug": "justice-league",
    "description": "A great team.",
    "privacy": "closed",
    "permission": "admin",
    "members_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/members{/member}",
    "repositories_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/repos"
  }
]

Add team restrictions of protected branch

POST /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/restrictions/teams

Body parameters

Pass the list of team slugs with push access.

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

Example

[
  "justice-league"
]

Response

Status: 200 OK

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1",
    "name": "Justice League",
    "slug": "justice-league",
    "description": "A great team.",
    "privacy": "closed",
    "permission": "admin",
    "members_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/members{/member}",
    "repositories_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/repos"
  }
]

Remove team restrictions of protected branch

DELETE /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/restrictions/teams

Example

[
  "octocats"
]

Response

Status: 200 OK

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1",
    "name": "Justice League",
    "slug": "justice-league",
    "description": "A great team.",
    "privacy": "closed",
    "permission": "admin",
    "members_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/members{/member}",
    "repositories_url": "https://api.github.com/teams/1/repos"
  }
]

List user restrictions of protected branch

GET /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/restrictions/users

Status: 200 OK

[
  {
    "login": "octocat",
    "id": 1,
    "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
  }
]

Replace user restrictions of protected branch

PUT /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/restrictions/users

Body parameters

Pass the list of user logins with push access.

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

Example

[
  "octocat"
]

Response

Status: 200 OK

[
  {
    "login": "octocat",
    "id": 1,
    "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
  }
]

Add user restrictions of protected branch

POST /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/restrictions/users

Body parameters

Pass the list of user logins with push access.

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

Example

[
  "octocat"
]

Response

Status: 200 OK

[
  {
    "login": "octocat",
    "id": 1,
    "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
  }
]

Remove user restrictions of protected branch

DELETE /repos/:owner/:repo/branches/:branch/protection/restrictions/users

Example

[
  "defunkt"
]

Response

Status: 200 OK

[
  {
    "login": "octocat",
    "id": 1,
    "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
  }
]