apicheats.dev github/llms.txt Raw .md
POST

POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/branches/{branch}/rename — GitHub API

GitHub token (required); https://api.github.com

GitHub API

Rename a branch

Base URL
https://api.github.com
Auth
Authorization: Bearer <GITHUB_API_KEY>
Last verified
2026-10-20 · upstream hash matched
Actions Try in browser→
Agents: curl -H "Accept: text/markdown" this URL
→ 264 tokens · Vary: Accept

Critical gotchas

GitHub recommends an Accept: application/vnd.github+json header and an explicit X-GitHub-Api-Version header.

Fine-grained tokens only authorize repositories and permissions selected when the token is created.

cURL

curl -X POST 'https://api.github.com/repos/example-owner/example-repo/branches/example-branch/rename' \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_TOKEN" \  -H 'Accept: application/vnd.github+json' \  -H 'X-GitHub-Api-Version: 2026-03-10' \  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \  -d '{  "new_name": "example-new-name"}'

Parameters

Name In Type Required Description
owner path string Yes The account owner of the repository. The name is not case sensitive.
repo path string Yes The name of the repository without the `.git` extension. The name is not case sensitive.
branch path string Yes The name of the branch. Cannot contain wildcard characters. To use wildcard characters in branch names, use [the GraphQL API](https://docs.github.com/graphql).
new_name body string Yes The new name of the branch.

Response 200 OK

{
  "name": "string",
  "commit": {
    "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/commits/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
      "author": {
        "name": "\"Chris Wanstrath\"",
        "email": "\"[email protected]\"",
        "date": "\"2007-10-29T02:42:39.000-07:00\""
      },
      "committer": {
        "name": "\"Chris Wanstrath\"",
        "email": "\"[email protected]\"",
        "date": "\"2007-10-29T02:42:39.000-07:00\""
      },
      "message": "Fix all the bugs",
      "comment_count": 0,
      "tree": {
        "sha": "827efc6d56897b048c772eb4087f854f46256132",
        "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/tree/827efc6d56897b048c772eb4087f854f46256132"
      },
      "verification": {
        "verified": true,
        "reason": "string",
        "payload": "string",
        "signature": "string",
        "verified_at": "string"
      }
    },
    "author": {
      "name": "string",
      "email": "string",
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=",
      "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/octocat_happy.gif",
      "gravatar_id": "41d064eb2195891e12d0413f63227ea7",
      "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": true,
      "starred_at": "\"2020-07-09T00:17:55Z\"",
      "user_view_type": "public"
    },
    "committer": {
      "name": "string",
      "email": "string",
      "login": "octocat",
      "id": 1,
      "node_id": "MDQ6VXNlcjE=",
      "avatar_url": "https://github.com/images/error/octocat_happy.gif",
      "gravatar_id": "41d064eb2195891e12d0413f63227ea7",
      "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": true,
      "starred_at": "\"2020-07-09T00:17:55Z\"",
      "user_view_type": "public"
    },
    "parents": [
      {
        "sha": "7638417db6d59f3c431d3e1f261cc637155684cd",
        "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/commits/7638417db6d59f3c431d3e1f261cc637155684cd",
        "html_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/commit/7638417db6d59f3c431d3e1f261cc637155684cd"
      }
    ],
    "stats": {
      "additions": 0,
      "deletions": 0,
      "total": 0
    },
    "files": [
      {
        "sha": "bbcd538c8e72b8c175046e27cc8f907076331401",
        "filename": "file1.txt",
        "status": "added",
        "additions": 103,
        "deletions": 21,
        "changes": 124,
        "blob_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/blob/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/file1.txt",
        "raw_url": "https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World/raw/6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e/file1.txt",
        "contents_url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/contents/file1.txt?ref=6dcb09b5b57875f334f61aebed695e2e4193db5e",
        "patch": "@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ module Test @@ -1000,7 +1000,7 @@ module Test",
        "previous_filename": "file.txt"
      }
    ]
  },
  "_links": {
    "html": "string",
    "self": "https://example.com"
  },
  "protected": true,
  "protection": {
    "url": "string",
    "enabled": true,
    "required_status_checks": {
      "url": "string",
      "enforcement_level": "string",
      "contexts": [
        "string"
      ],
      "checks": [
        {
          "context": "string",
          "app_id": 0
        }
      ],
      "contexts_url": "string",
      "strict": true
    },
    "enforce_admins": {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/enforce_admins",
      "enabled": true
    },
    "required_pull_request_reviews": {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/dismissal_restrictions",
      "dismissal_restrictions": {
        "users": [
          {
            "name": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "email": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "login": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "node_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "avatar_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "gravatar_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "html_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "followers_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "following_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "gists_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "starred_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "subscriptions_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "organizations_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "repos_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "events_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "received_events_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "type": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "site_admin": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "starred_at": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "user_view_type": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          }
        ],
        "teams": [
          {
            "id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "node_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "name": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "slug": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "description": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "privacy": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "notification_setting": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "permission": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "permissions": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "html_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "members_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "repositories_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "type": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "access_source": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "organization_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "enterprise_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "parent": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          }
        ],
        "apps": [
          {
            "id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "slug": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "node_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "client_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "owner": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "name": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "description": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "external_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "html_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "created_at": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "updated_at": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "permissions": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "events": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "installations_count": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          }
        ],
        "url": "\"https://api.github.com/repos/the-org/an-org-repo/branches/master/protection/dismissal_restrictions\"",
        "users_url": "\"https://api.github.com/repos/the-org/an-org-repo/branches/master/protection/dismissal_restrictions/users\"",
        "teams_url": "\"https://api.github.com/repos/the-org/an-org-repo/branches/master/protection/dismissal_restrictions/teams\""
      },
      "bypass_pull_request_allowances": {
        "users": [
          {
            "name": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "email": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "login": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "node_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "avatar_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "gravatar_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "html_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "followers_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "following_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "gists_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "starred_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "subscriptions_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "organizations_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "repos_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "events_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "received_events_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "type": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "site_admin": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "starred_at": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "user_view_type": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          }
        ],
        "teams": [
          {
            "id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "node_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "name": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "slug": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "description": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "privacy": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "notification_setting": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "permission": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "permissions": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "html_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "members_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "repositories_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "type": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "access_source": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "organization_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "enterprise_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "parent": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          }
        ],
        "apps": [
          {
            "id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "slug": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "node_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "client_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "owner": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "name": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "description": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "external_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "html_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "created_at": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "updated_at": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "permissions": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "events": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "installations_count": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          }
        ]
      },
      "dismiss_stale_reviews": true,
      "require_code_owner_reviews": true,
      "required_approving_review_count": 2,
      "require_last_push_approval": true
    },
    "restrictions": {
      "url": "https://example.com",
      "users_url": "https://example.com",
      "teams_url": "https://example.com",
      "apps_url": "https://example.com",
      "users": [
        {
          "login": "string",
          "id": 0,
          "node_id": "string",
          "avatar_url": "string",
          "gravatar_id": "string",
          "url": "string",
          "html_url": "string",
          "followers_url": "string",
          "following_url": "string",
          "gists_url": "string",
          "starred_url": "string",
          "subscriptions_url": "string",
          "organizations_url": "string",
          "repos_url": "string",
          "events_url": "string",
          "received_events_url": "string",
          "type": "string",
          "site_admin": true,
          "user_view_type": "string"
        }
      ],
      "teams": [
        {
          "id": 0,
          "node_id": "string",
          "name": "string",
          "slug": "string",
          "description": "string",
          "privacy": "string",
          "notification_setting": "string",
          "permission": "string",
          "permissions": {
            "pull": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "triage": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "push": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "maintain": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "admin": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          },
          "url": "https://example.com",
          "html_url": "https://github.com/orgs/rails/teams/core",
          "members_url": "string",
          "repositories_url": "https://example.com",
          "type": "enterprise",
          "access_source": "direct",
          "organization_id": 37,
          "enterprise_id": 42,
          "parent": {
            "id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "node_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "members_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "name": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "description": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "permission": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "privacy": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "notification_setting": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "html_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "repositories_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "slug": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "ldap_dn": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "type": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "organization_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "enterprise_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          }
        }
      ],
      "apps": [
        {
          "id": 0,
          "slug": "string",
          "node_id": "string",
          "owner": {
            "login": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "node_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "repos_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "events_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "hooks_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "issues_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "members_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "public_members_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "avatar_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "description": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "gravatar_id": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "html_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "followers_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "following_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "gists_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "starred_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "subscriptions_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "organizations_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "received_events_url": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "type": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "site_admin": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "user_view_type": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          },
          "name": "string",
          "client_id": "string",
          "description": "string",
          "external_url": "string",
          "html_url": "string",
          "created_at": "string",
          "updated_at": "string",
          "permissions": {
            "metadata": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "contents": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "issues": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]",
            "single_file": "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          },
          "events": [
            "[recursive or deeply nested schema]"
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    "required_linear_history": {
      "enabled": true
    },
    "allow_force_pushes": {
      "enabled": true
    },
    "allow_deletions": {
      "enabled": true
    },
    "block_creations": {
      "enabled": true
    },
    "required_conversation_resolution": {
      "enabled": true
    },
    "name": "\"branch/with/protection\"",
    "protection_url": "\"https://api.github.com/repos/owner-79e94e2d36b3fd06a32bb213/AAA_Public_Repo/branches/branch/with/protection/protection\"",
    "required_signatures": {
      "url": "https://api.github.com/repos/octocat/Hello-World/branches/master/protection/required_signatures",
      "enabled": true
    },
    "lock_branch": {
      "enabled": false
    },
    "allow_fork_syncing": {
      "enabled": false
    }
  },
  "protection_url": "https://example.com",
  "pattern": "\"mas*\"",
  "required_approving_review_count": 1
}
Get a free GitHub API key → sponsored

Affiliate link - we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.